


The Darkness Burns...

by I_Regret_Nothing_666



Category: Heroes of Olympus - Fandom
Genre: Festus - Freeform, Hearing Voices, Hurt!Leo, Hurt!Nico, Multi, No sex or smut, Ogygia, Quest, The Argo II - Freeform, sorry!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 21:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12351264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Regret_Nothing_666/pseuds/I_Regret_Nothing_666
Summary: The Argo II is gone, leaving the Seven and Nico stranded. Someone saved Leo's life, leaving him to question his feelings. That person was none other than Nico di Angelo. Will their friendship turn into something more?(( Based on http://archiveofourown.org/users/elle_ish/pseuds/elle_ish (elle_ish)’s Klance fic,“We are the lost and forgotten” and H.E.C (hec)’s headcanon, “The Darkness Burns”))(I'm sorry I suck at summaries!)





	1. Chapter 1

 

Leo couldn't lift himself up from the spot where he layed. He could barely remember anything that had just happened. All he could remember was something massive slamming into The Argo II and it going down. He remembered Jason grabbing Piper, Frank shifting into an eagle and getting Percy, Annabeth and Hazel onto his back. No one had called for him. No one had tried to save him. Except for Festus, who had told him to get off the ship. But, Leo had sobbed and refused to leave the dragon. His mom had used to sing a song about how the captain must go down with his ship.  _Wait,_ he thought,  _what happened to Nico?_ The Ghost King was also on the Argo II when it went down. Then it hit him. The last thing he he could remember was Nico di Angelo wrapping his arms around Leo's waist and trying to pull him to the corner of the room to shadow-travel away. But by then it was too late. The ship had crashed and by Leo's estimate, it was destroyed on impact. He let out a broken sob. His greatest invention. Gone. He tried to sit up and nearly screamed. The pain was overwhelming, at least three of his ribs were broken. He managed to turn his head and spotted someone lying a few yards away. That person was the broken and rumpled form of Nico di Angelo. 

Leo didn't know where the others were. All he knew was that they all made it out okay. "Nico?" Leo called out. "Nic-" Leo gasped in pain trying to sit up. Slowly he crawled to his buddy's side. He and Nico had become quite close. They always got together after their nightmares, they bonded over depression. And the fact they had few people in their lives who  _really_ loved them. Nico laid on his back, the only movement was the steady rise and fall of his chest. But even that began to slow. Blood matted the shaggy, black hair on the top of Nico's head. He could tell by the just looking Nico's right arm and leg that they were broken. Nico's right side was mangled, where a piece of debris had impaled him. It was obvious that he had taken the the worst of the fall. Nico gasped and his dark eyes fluttered open. "Nico?" Leo whispered. Nico's eyes landed on him, but Leo got the feeling that he was barely hanging on. Nico winced. Leo didn't know why he did it--no. He  _did_ know why he did it. He leaned forwards and pressed his lips gently onto the younger boy's. Nico, despite his possibly fatal wounds, managed to kiss Leo back, weakly. "It's going to be okay, Neeks" Leo broke apart from Nico, "They're coming." Nico's eyes stayed closed. Leo hoped with all of his might that his friends, really were coming. He crawled to Nico's left side and laid down. He wrapped himself around the son of Hades, trying not to hurt him. He wanted to protect the shorter boy. He fainted from the pain.

That's how Jason found the two boys. Tangled up. Broken. Beaten. Bleeding. But alive. He saw straight away Nico was dying, he was half shadow again. He was fading. His right side was practically destroyed, and the one and only Leo Valdez was clinging onto his left. "FRANK! Come help me! I found them." Frank stumbled through the wreckage of the unbeatable Argo II, whom was finally beaten. Frank gathered Leo up in his arms, "He's got three broken ribs, but he'll live. He's extremely lucky Nico was there, that boy's hard as nails. If that had been Leo..." Frank didn't finish. He didn't have to. Jason knew Leo would've died easily, if not for Nico. Jason limped over the the Ghost King. Luckily, he was still partially solid, so Jason could lift him up. He followed Frank back to where they'd all landed. Percy was tending to a few cuts Annabeth had, but gasped when he saw the son of Hades. It was worse than Jason had originally thought. Both Nico's right arm and leg were twisted at an extremely unnatural angle. He was bleeding out, and some debris had ripped all of the skin from off of his side. The wound was so deep, Jason could see Nico's actual ribs. He was sure that the rest of the Seven were feeling just as guilty as he was himself. No one had called for Leo. No one had called for Nico. No one had tried to save either of them. Jason knew that his power was getting stronger, and he could've saved both boys as well as him and Piper. But instead they had left to two boys to fend for themselves. Jason remembered seeing, out of the corner of his eye, Nico grab Leo at the last second. He had just  _assumed_ that Nico would shadow-travel them away, before he realised that he actually needed a  _shadow_ to do that. It had been mid day. He didn't know how long it had taken them to find Nico and Leo but night had fallen ages ago. "Well...the good news is that we have managed to build a temporary medi-tent. We can put them both in there." Annabeth's voice cracked. She would never admit it, but she had a soft spot for both boys. 

Leo groaned. Everwhere hurt. He remembered his broken ribs, someone must've pushed them back.. or something. He had never been good at biology.  Leo was worried that he had destroyed his friendship with Nico. He decided to go back to sleep. Maybe it was all just a nightmare. Maybe the Argo II hadn't crashed. Maybe it would all be better when he woke up.

To Leo's dismay, it wasn't a nightmare. He woke up two days later, to find that he was in a makeshift medi-tent. It was quite big, it had one big ward, with four beds. He pulled back the curtains that were around his bed and looked around. One other bed had curtains that concealed the broken person within it.  ** _Nico._** It took every ounce of his willpower not to go and check on the son of Hades, but he thought that if the curtains were up he was still recovering. After all he had seen Nico's injuries firsthand. He stumbled out of the tent, only to pull his hands up to his eyes. It was really, really sunny. He immediately recognised where they'd crashed. Well, shit. His day was just getting better and better. They... they were back on Ogygia. But it was different from the last time he was there, Calypso had added more paths and modern things. She still had her beautiful gardens, but it looked more... updated. Calypso herself was stood, with her arms folded, glaring at Percy and Annabeth, who were trying to explain why they had smashed into her new table. "Umm... guys?" All eyes snapped to Leo, before Piper and Hazel were running headlong at him. "LEO! We were so worried!" Leo grinned at them, before he remembered that they hadn't tried to help him, or more importantly, Nico. His thoughts were interrupted by Calypso's voice, which was barely a whisper, "Valdez? You... you came back? You came back for me?" Double shit. Luckily when he was younger, he'd learned how to fake faint. As his friends carried him back to medi-tent (all the while complaining about how heavy he was) he was thinking.  _What am I gonna do now?_ What nobody except the two boys themselves knew, was that Nico himself had pulled Leo out of the crippling depression that he felt after getting back from Ogygia. Nico had helped him get over this girl, just as Leo helped Nico get over Percy. And he was back. The biggest problem with this was that he just knew that he would have to choose between the boy and the girl, and he knew who he would choose. He knew that he would brake one persons heart, and he didn't know if that person could stand another person leaving them. The thought tore him up. Once actually in the cot, Leo waited until his friends had left, before he slipped out of his bed and creeped up to the curtains that were hiding Nico di Angelo. He slipped behind them, and was met with a heartbreaking sight. Nico was lying down on his back, face deathly pale. His dark eyes and pale mouth were closed. Both his right arm and leg were in makeshift casts, he had a bloodied bandage wrapped around his ribs. The bandage obviously needed changing, luckily Leo had done a bit of first aid in his time. He pulled a fresh bandage from off the shelf and set to work. He slowly peeled the bloodstained cloth back, revealing the worst injury Leo had ever seen. It was like Nico had been attacked by a zombie. Leo could literally see Nico's rib cage. It made Leo let out a small heartbroken sob. Even his bones had scars. Speaking of, if Nico made it through this, he would have a really badass one, with a really badass story to go with it. It physically hurt Leo to think about that rather large 'if'. Part of him thought, "What the hell? This is 'Nico' we're talking about, isn't it? Of course he'll get through. He's the son of Hades!" But another part of him kept asking himself 'how' he could survive anything like that. Leo finished up with the bandage and pulled out some spare nectar and pored it on the wound. To Leo's delight, it actually healed a bit. Then he re-wrapped the wound with the fresh bandage. He pulled the chair up to Nico's bed. His face fell into his hands, as he sobbed, "I'm so sorry, Neeks. This is all-"

"You're forgiven." Croaked a raspy voice, Leo's head shot up.

"Neeks?"

"You KNOW I hate it when you call me that."

Leo jumped up, "It really is you!"

"The one and only, Dumbass." Nico smiled weakly.

"A-are you okay?!"

"Do I look okay?" He said sarcastically, "Nah, just kidding. But it does hurt like a bitch, though." Leo's eyes welled up again, "Nico..." Nico must've picked up on Leo's tone, because his face turned from discomfort to serious in 0.369 seconds. "What is it Leo? Wait, where are we?" "Ogygia. Nico, we're on Ogygia." Nico's eyes widened.

"No..."

"Yes... And I don't know what to do. She thinks I came back for her... but I didn’t..." he whispered. Nico's eyes couldn't get any bigger. "Well your week’s just getting better and better." "Nico... do you remember what happened when the Argo II crashed, and I came and found you?" Nico's eyebrows scrunched up. Then his expression cleared,

“No... sorry, did I miss something important?” Leo breathed a sigh of relief. 

“No! Nothing important. Just forget I said anything!” But part of him was devastated.

“You sure?” Nico questioned. 

“Positive.” Nico smiled, but it seemed pained, like he had a bad headache.

“You okay?” Leo asked

“I’m fine.” Just then Calypso walked in.

“Oh, Nico. I’m glad you’re awake!” She turned to face Leo, “Can we talk?” Leo gulped, but nodded. He followed Calypso outside of the ward. 

“Do not, worry, Leo. The Gods have been kind. I have found a boy who can remain here on my island.”

“Wait... Wut?” Calypso started to laugh.

“The daughter of Aphrodite spoke to me. She said that you and the son of Hades make such a cute couple, so I decided to play a, I do believe they call it a ‘prank’ on you.” She was crying with laughter by now. Leo scowled furiously.

“We’re not a couple. He doesn’t like me like that.” He growled, but Calypso seemed unfazed.

“Come on, Leo. It’s dinner time.”

Leo followed Calypso out of the medi-tent, only to find the rest of the Seven, standing in a line. "Hey Leo," Jason rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Look, man. We're all extremely sorry. For everything. I could've saved you-"

"But you didn't." Leo cut him off. "No one tried to save us. But _he_ tried. And look where that got him. You wouldn't believe it, would you? The son of Jupiter. Our saving Grace, my supposed 'best friend' left me to die on my own ship. Then you get the son of Hades." He gestured back at the tent. "When I had my first nightmare on the Argo II I saw him. I asked him to help me and he did, but not before questioning me ‘why me?’ He called himself 'moody'. 'Broody'. 'Friendless'. 'Weirdo'. But that friendless weirdo saved my gods forsaken life. He doesn't deserve you. Any of you. He tried to save me, even though he didn't have too. He pulled me out of crippling depression, even though he didn't have too. He ki-" Leo missed that part out. He'd already said too much. Jason blushed furiously. But didn't deny it. Percy opened his mouth but Leo just shook his head, "I don't want to hear it. Really." The rest of the Seven looked down guiltily, Leo didn't care. He always knew that he was the "seventh wheel" but he thought his friends might actually try too, I don't know,  _save his life?_ He grabbed two lots of food and turned back to the medi-tent when, "We said we were sorry. Why are you still angry?" He turned slowly to face Percy. 

"Why? Why am I angry? Well listen to me, the son of  Hades is in there dying because no one tried to help him. I thought you cared about me. I thought I had friends. But it turns out I only have the one. He could've left me to die. BUT HE DIDN'T." With that, Leo stormed back into the medi-tent. 

Nico was waiting for him. "Heya. You okay?" He asked. Leo just collapsed on the end of Nico's bed and cried. Nico shifted slightly to make room for Leo to dive in next to him. Leo did just that. He held onto Nico's undamaged side and sobbed his heart out. Nico just rubbed circles on Leo's back. It was identical to when Leo had nightmares. Or when Nico had nightmares. They fell asleep like that. That's how Jason found them for a second time. Tangled up. Broken. Beaten. But alive. 


	2. The Darkness Burns...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Seven adapt to life on Ogygia. Leo's finally found happiness in Nico. But will something snatch it away from him?

The team had been on Ogygia for about 6 weeks and Leo was extremely worried about Nico. They had been spending a lot of time together and Leo noticed how Nico wasn’t looking after himself. He wasn’t eating. He wasn’t sleeping. And when he wasn’t with Leo he was training. He couldn’t train very well, because of the massive gaping hole in his side. And his broken arm and leg. But he was trying. Calypso has made a special training course for Nico and as Leo was good at building things, because Nico couldn't walk, he decided to make him a wheelchair. Nico thought it was a great idea. Leo constructed it out of some bamboo sticks he found, for the axis. Some rope from his belt and some more bamboo for the wheels and Calypso had helped him find some rubber for the tires. Where Calypso got it from, Leo didn't know. Nico was ecstatic when he first got in there, the comfy, woven seats Calypso had made were... well... really comfy. Leo decided to talk to Hazel about his concerns. 

“Something is going on with Nico. Why am I the only one noticing it?” Hazel grimaced.

“You’re not the only one, Leo, trust me.” Hazel spoke, trying to ease Leo’s concern. “But this is Nico, if something is seriously wrong, he’ll come to us when he’s ready. You can’t push him.”

“But he’s not eating, he’s not sleeping-“ Hazels eyes darkened.

“And how would you know that?”

“Because when he’s not with me, he’s  training!” Leo yelled over her with flustered frustration. 

“Look, there’s nothing we can do about it. He’s stubborn. We can’t help him if he doesn’t come to us. I’m sorry Leo.” Leo sighed angrily and turned on his heal, heading to bed.

Leo woke up to the sound of arguing. He clambered out of bed (he had aquired one of the medi-beds as his normal bed) and staggered outside. Nico, Percy, Jason and Piper were all arguing loudly. "Wa's goin' on?" He mumbled.

"Piper won't let me push Nico on his wheelchair!" Said Percy and Jason in unison.

"Yeah, that's because you'll probably kill him!" Piper screamed back. Even though Leo was still angry, he had to agree with Piper on this one. 

"You forget," Nico growled, quietly but dangerously, "That I am the one in the wheelchair. I get to choose who pushes me. Not you." He snarled. It appeared that he, too, was being salty towards the team. Well, even more so than usual. 

"Well, who do you want to push you?" Nico glared at Percy. Then, without even looking at him, he pointed at Leo. 

“What?! This guy?” Percy cried. 

 _“This guy?!_ What do you mean by that, Percy?” Leo asked. Percy jumped.

“ I-I’m so sorry Leo! I don’t know what came over me... I felt the same on the ship... like... like I hated you. But I don’t!” Percy whispered. 

“Yeah. Right.” Leo’s voice cracked. That hurt. 

“Leave him alone, Percy. I chose him because he’s my best friend.” Nico snarled again. He was terrifying at times. The comment hurt Leo a bit, but he could do nothing about it. Percy turned to face Nico.

“And you. With your-” Percy said some extremely terrible things about homosexuals. Then he pulled his hands up to his mouth and apologised. He had the nerve to  _apologise._ ~~~~Nico had tears in his eyes, but he wouldn’t let them fall. He glared defiantly into Percy’s sea green eyes. Hazel screamed abuse and had to be held back by Frank. Piper gasped. Annabeth’s mouth fell open. Jason growled something like “Take that back.” Leo’s rage exploded. His whole body was on fire. He stalked up to Percy and punched him in the face. Percy could’ve stopped him but he didn’t. He deserved what he got, his head hung in shame. He seemed to know that what Leo did would be nothing compared to what Hazel would do if she got a hold of him. He clutched the massive burn on his face and turned to face Nico. Percy apologised again but Nico summoned a massive crack in the Earth between him and Percy.

“Don’t ever talk to me again. Don’t ever blink in my direction again. Don’t ever breathe in my direction again. Don’t ever come near me again. Or I swear to the Gods I will send your sorry ass back to Tartarus. Without. Blinking. An. Eye.” Everyone knew that this was not a hollow threat. Everyone believed that he really would send him back there. Percy turned and ran into the water, no doubt to heal his burn. Nico finally let go. He sobbed quietly and beckoned Leo to come and push him away from everyone else. They didn’t talk much as they rolled around the island, Leo just whispered comforting things in Nico’s ear. Finally Leo needed a break. 

“Come on, Baby Bat Wings. Let’s stop for a while.” He whispered gently. They were sat in a clearing surrounded by beautiful birds and animals. “Well, this is romantic.” Leo chuckled, Nico managed a weak one back. He was obviously still extremely hurt by Percy’s words. Leo needed him to know that he was loved. “C’mere.” He said quietly as he lifted Nico out of the wheelchair. Leo wasn’t particularly strong, it was just that Nico was so light. He sat cross legged on the floor with Nico in his lap. He sung a Spanish song that his mother used to sing to him. Nico smiled as got comfortable.

“Thank you so much, Leo. You keep me sane. You make me want to stay.” Leo didn’t quite understand what he meant, but he didn’t question it. He just kept singing.

“Don’t ever leave me. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Please.” Nico sounded so broken. It was a plea, rather than a demand.

“I swear. I swear it on the River Styx.” Nico smiled, adjusted his cast to a more comfortable position and sighed contentedly. “Tell me about your past.” Leo was slightly confused.

“What?” Nico repeated his statement. “Um... okay.” So Leo just replayed his past. Not many people knew that Leo had a dog. “Her name was Patch. She was a French Bulldog, she was blonde with patches of of ginger, that’s why we called her Patch. She was so cute! I... actually don’t know what happened to her.” 

“I never had a dog, but we did have a neighbourhood cat that we used to feed... She was like a pet.” Nico shrugged and yawned. “I’m gonna try and sleep, is that okay?”

“Of corse.” Leo smiled.

Night had fallen about 5 hours ago or... something. Time was hard here, and Leo had managed to lift Nico back into his wheelchair chair and he had just pushed Nico back inside the camp when he woke with a start. “Stop.” He whispered. 

“What is it?” Hazel asked. Nico didn’t answer. “Nico, please. You’re scaring me.” Suddenly Nico screamed. A blood curdling scream. 

“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! PLEASE, LEO CAN’T YOU HEAR THAT?!” Leo had jumped back about a foot. 

“Hear w-what?” Leo cried. Then Nico went silent. Everything went silent. No birds chirped. No water ran. Nothing. Then the temperature dropped about 100 degrees. Leo could see his breath, but he couldn’t see Nico’s. “N-Nico?” He didn’t answer. Leo took a step closer to Nico’s back. Suddenly Nico fell out of his wheelchair, writhing in pain. Leo ran to catch him but Nico pushed him away.

“Get  _back!_  I don’t want to hurt another person I love. _Please._ ” He was screaming in pain by this point.

“What’s wrong with him?” Annabeth whispered. Nico’s head snapped up, a murderous, lopsided smirk on his face.

“ _You don’t want to know.”_

Leo almost screamed like a girl. Nico was scary anyway, but this was taking it to a whole new level. He heard Hazel and Annabeth take a step back. The voice Nico spoke with, didn’t belong to him. It was high pitched and motherly and absolutely terrifying.

“Snap out of it, Nico.” 

 _“What makes you think he can actually hear you?”_ It was a long shot, but Leo needed to try.

“I know he can.” This made Nico-not-Nico twitch slightly. His partially black eyes flashed with Nico’s usual dark, dark brown. Leo  noticed this, and he smirked. He could play this game.

“You’re Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades.”

_“What are you doing, child?”_

Questioned the voice, who was obviously agitated now.

“You have a hellhound, called Mrs O’Leary. Your sister is Hazel. You beat me at everything,” He said with a smile, remembering all the times they played video games together, “Especially Mario Kart”

 _“Don’t you wish to here what I have to say?”_ The voice screamed. Nico was obviously fighting for control, 

“You’re the best fighter I’ve ever had the pleasure to train with. I know you can hear me. Just fight your way back to my voice.” The voice let out a high pitched scream. It was Nico who let out a gasp and a shallow cry. 

“I told you about my dog, and I was sad, because I didn’t know how she was doing. But you were there, and you listened to me. Remember her name, Nico? Come on, buddy, I know you do.”

“P-P-Patch?” Nico whispered, still convulsing through dry heaves. The words were more than a little unsure, yet his eyes were fully brown now, back to human.

Nico’s un-casted hand latched onto Leo’s arm for support, his nails digging through the fireproof material and further into the skin, tearing it painfully.

Leo gasped and bit his lip. Dammit, but okay, okay, Leo had this! He just had to breathe.

“Yeah, that’s her.” He gritted. “Patch. My Fre-” 

“N-Nch B-B-Bulldog?” Nico stammered, finishing Leo’s sentence. His voice was more his own again. He was back.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Nico blinked suddenly, the cold gone along with his thoughts. Nico noticed his position on the ground. He was huddled on his feet in the corner, the others all standing around him in a protective circle. He had broken his cast by crouching on it, but that was the least of his problems. Their eyes were what struck Nico, a sight that would haunt him. They were panicked, nervous, jittery. 

_Afraid._

The voice started again, sounding like a static radio. He had been hearing it since the Argo II had crashed. Sometimes it was in a different language. Sometimes it sounded like it was coming from another room. Sometimes it was like a broken radio. It just wouldn’t stop. It wouldn’t leave him alone. 

_ Look at them. They don’t want you. They’re afraid of you. _

Mabye it was right. He was the son of Hades after all. 

_ Ikaseyoo _

Mabye he should just leave like it kept telling him to. 

_ Ikanseyou _

He didn’t want to feel anymore. 

_ Ikanseeyou _

He felt a strange presence behind him, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

_ I. Can. See. You. _

He whipped his head around so fast he was sure he would get whiplash. A voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Nico?” It was Leo. “What’s wrong?! What the fuck was that?!” Shit. This was bad. Leo anxiously stated his thoughts aloud.

“Fuck it, this isn’t happening anymore. Nico, I don’t care but you’re telling us what’s going on.” Leo slid on his knees, huddling over Nico’s broken body. He grabbed onto Nico’s clothed shoulders, literally trying to shake some sense into him while the other remained like a ragdoll on the floor.

Jason walked behind, clutching Leo’s shoulder to stop him from hurting the other.

He too fell to his knees over Nico’s broken body.

“I agree with Leo, Nico. I’m sorry about what happened, I really am, but something is wrong, isn’t it? I mean, we all saw that."

Nico, huffing and shaking like a leaf on the ground, turned his head away.

“It’s nothing.” He admitted into his shoulder.

Leo looked completely worn out by this response, eyebrows rising. He shot Jason a look of concern, before turning back to Nico. “That’s bullshit Nico, and you know it. Like Jason said, we all saw that.” 

 “I have it under control,” Nico choked out dejectedly. He knew they would see straight through him.  

“Yeah, looks like you’ve really got a good handle on it.” Leo argued. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, an angered exhale exiting his raw lips. “You’ve lost weight, you aren’t eating. Hell, some days I don’t think you even leave your room.”

“Leo,” Piper tried to interject, but was completely obliterated from her friends loud rant.

“And the way you looked right then? You were scared out of your mind! I’ve never seen someone turn around so fast in fear.”

 “Leo!” Piper tried again, but no amount of charmspeak could stop Leo. 

“No, Pipes, I’m not going to shut up. Not this time. Someone has to knock some sense into him. If it has to be me, fine.”

Nico turned himself around, perching himself up on his elbows, feeling the blood prickling down his cheeks from where he he was digging his nails into his forehead. Leo looked fretful. Everyone looked worried. Beyond worried, and Nico was the one to put that expression on their faces.

“Something’s going on, Nico, and you’re going to tell us what it is.”

Nico turned away. And when he didn’t say anything, Leo scooted closer. “Please?”

“This isn’t your problem.” Nico declared with some anger, more at himself for making the others worry than anything.

“It isn’t my- of course its my problem!” Leo shouted. “I’m your friend and I care about you!” 

“Just, please, shut up Leo!” Nico growled out as he stood up unsteadily, voice continuing to moan over the other’s words through flashes of heated pain. He clambered back into his chair, but Leo reached out, ready to grab the other if he just tumbled back down. Nico hadn’t, but Leo didn’t move away. In fact, he knelt closer. He spoke again,

“No, not until you get it through your thick skull that we care about you. You’re our friend, that’s why we want to know. Gods damnit, Nico, why won’t you just trust us enough to admit it!”

Leo’s voice began to mix with the sounds, forming into one deep, spiritual tone that frightened Nico to listen too.

“Because its not that easy!” He tried to argue, turning away. He couldn’t look Leo straight in the face when the voice was mixing with his.

“Oh, so there is something wrong!” Leo and the voice said together.

Nico whimpered, but tried to even himself out. He gulped before shouting back, “Of course there is you idiot! Just like you duly noted yesterday when you thought I wasn’t there. ‘ _Something’s wrong with Nico_ ’, like it’s the newsflash of the century.” 

Leo stuttered, shocked that his arguing had actually worked. He drew himself back, placing some space between him and the animalistic Nico.

Jason took the step forward then, noting how Leo had calmed down and seemed silent in a relevant state of shock. “We’re worried about you okay?” Hazel admitted kindly, while the voice just mocked her from behind, mimicking her words to change the genuine tone. “Just like Leo said, we’re your friends. And you’re my brother. We care about you and don’t want to see you-“

“We care about you.” They spoke together. Snide, teasing, and all completely surreal.

“Shut up! I never asked for you to worry! You shouldn’t have to worry, no one should have to-”

“Nico-”

Nico snarled out with his teeth bared, “Just because you’ve all socialised in your lives and learned the meaning of love doesn’t mean I have to lay all my problems out to you, so just fuck off!” The voice was becoming louder and clearer now.

_ Look. You’re poisoning your friendships again. You don’t deserve them. Come to me. I can take you somewhere where you don’t have to feel. _

This was bad. It was getting more persuasive. He really felt like leaving. Maybe it’s for the best.

  _Come to me._

This was exactly what he hadn’t wanted. All attention and eyes on him? Worried? It made Nico nervous.

_ You _

They didn’t deserve this.

_ Won't _

This wasn’t good.

_ Have _

The voice hovered over all of their words, mixing them, changing them. He- Nico couldn’t distinguish it. What the hell was real-

_ To _

He couldn’t take it. He needed it to stop. He really didn’t want to feel anymore. He wanted to die.

_ FEEL. _

The voice became so loud Nico snapped his hands up to his ears. He passed out from the noise, all the while screaming for it to leave him alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me until the end of this chapter!


	3. We Are The Lost And Forgotten...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and the team try to help Nico with the voice he is hearing.

Leo had pushed Nico back to the medi-tent two weeks ago... or something. Annabeth had upgraded it so that each bed had it’s own room an electric door that could be controlled by the person who was staying in the room. Nico’s wounds had fully healed. But he hadn’t come out since his episode. He was awake, but he wouldn’t come out or talk to anyone.

Leo was not at all surprised to find himself in front of Nico’s door. He held a tight fist next to the entrance, ready to knock. But he couldn’t bring himself to make that move. He knew Nico wouldn’t want to talk but he needed to try.

Leo just wanted to make sure that the other guy was okay after that shit occurred. That was okay, right? This was a normal friendly thing to do? 

Clenching his fist, he tried to knock again, only to find himself knocking three inches away from the actual door. Leo growled. ‘ _Fucking coward!_ ’ He thought viciously. He couldn’t even bring himself to see how his friend was doing!

Before he was just about to turn to leave, the door opened with a swoosh.

“You’re not as suave as you think you are.” Nico said, no emotion etched on his face as he leant tiredly against the doorframe. He was in his sweatpants and a dark tee shirt, and the comfortable clothes shouldn’t have made Leo blush as much as it did. He looked _really_ hot. Like _really_ hot. He gulped dramatically, noting Nico’s hovering bedroom eyes.

“Oh, uhm, hi, Nico. Didn’t expect to see you there.” Leo grinned just a little to wide, his cheeks burning at the muscle stretch. Nico didn’t blink, or offer a sarcastic remark. He didn’t do much of anything, really. “Your shadow’s been coming from underneath my door for the last five minutes.” He explained.

“Oh…” Leo stated, embarrassed he’d been caught so horribly. “Well then, I guess… How are you doing?” Leo asked, stringing his hands together while getting himself back to human levels of basic function.

Nico sighed, turning back into his room. The door remained open, and Leo just stood back and watched.

Was, was this a sign to go? Maybe Nico hadn’t wanted to talk, that actually seemed sensible. But then why was the door still open? A malfunction? Unlikely, Annabeth made it. He shakily ran an unsteady hand through his curly hair, feeling the small knots that had started to form when he stopped brushing his hair. He began to turn, needing to leave.

“Are you coming in or what?” Nico called out, seeming to sense Leo’s state of confusion.

The outstretched foot ready to leave immediately turned in the opposite direction, placing itself towards Nico’s darkened room quite comically. The door shut behind him immediately. He stepped in and walked himself with long strides to the foot of Nico’s bed, where the other was curled up underneath the covers. 

“I won’t stay long.” Leo said when a pair of eyes landed on him questioningly. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Nico pulled the covers further up his body towards his face.

“Obviously you don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know if I would either, but I meant what I said. We care about you, and- and I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I don’t know what there is to talk about.” Nico admitted rather depressed.

Leo lurched in confusion and disbelief. “Your body was taken over by some unknown force, what do you mean you don’t know what there is to talk about?”

Nico sat up in anger, covers falling down his chest and into his lap. “I meant what I said, Leo. I don’t know what there is to talk about because I don’t know what’s happening. One second I’m there with you guys, alert and weary, and the next I’m not and apparently something has control but now I’m back and everything feels cold, clamby and I can’t stop shaking.”

Leo sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing Nico’s hand and holding it, trying to sooth the other as he talked anxiously. Nico was right, Leo could tell by his hand that everything was cold, under a normal temperature that it should be. He rubbed it gently, trying to get some warmth going.

“Do you remember anything? Or no?” He asked cautiously, and Nico offered a side glance, unsure of how much he should say. The voice was terrorizing Nico, saying that it’d do terrible things to his friends if he slipped up and told anything.

 _Why even have friends? Are they even your friends? They’re afraid of you._ It asked. _They’re just trouble. Come to me, I’ll offer the comfort you seek._

“Nico?” Leo called out cautiously, his hand once again grabbing onto his shoulder while the other held his hand inside his own, bringing it towards Leo’s chest.

“I-I”

_Dare say too much and I’ll have his head._

Nico breathed in shakily, his fingertips subconsciously latching onto Leo’s t-shirt, surrounding it and pulling Leo closer.

“I don’t remember much, though. Like I said, one second we were rolling around the island and the next, I wasn’t in control. I was still there, like in my body, but I was shut out. It was like a movie, but I could still feel everything, hear everything. But I couldn’t speak or move. I didn’t have control and I don’t know what happened. Do you know how horrible that is?!”

Leo shook his head, hand rubbing the others skin sadly. “That’s okay, Nico. But nothing triggered it, did it? Nothing happened before it took over? Do you remember that part?”

When Nico said nothing and just continued to look at Leo with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth, Leo just asked with a nod of his head. “Anything at all?”

Nico hesitated, but ultimately decided to shake his head slowly, his gut wrenching in pain from so openly lying to someone who was just trying to help.

He thought back over the scenario, remembering what everyone had said, the kindness, caring. He had seen the look in Leo’s eyes. His kind and gentle touches. He had been so determined and reassuring. And it had helped, more than Nico liked to admit.

Leo sighed, look disapproving at Nico’s answer. “You’re sure?” He tried again, offering one last out.

Nico sucked in a breath, back landing against the wall as he leaned against it. “Positive.”

And there was that disappointed expression again. “Alright, but if you remember anything, I am here to talk, okay? You’re apart of this team too, so no one wants to see you hurt. Especially me, alright?” He barked out.

“Especially you?” Nico gave half-hearted laugh at this, eyebrows quirking upwards while his heart tensed from what Leo had just said.

“Well yeah. I mean, I need someone to argue and bicker with. No one can handle my sass and challenges like you can, sadly. I tried Frank, but he’s just too passive. The big oaf would never bicker at anything in a day of his life. Hazel never falls for it and I’m kind of terrified of Annabeth”

“We’re all terrified of Annabeth,” Nico smiled. “What about Piper? I’m sure she’d be good at a battle of wits.”

Leo shuttered at that thought. “Nah, she’d be too good, man. She outmatches me and can turn any one of my arguments against me. She could also make me tell my deepest secrets. So no! I need someone on my level, like you” He called out aggressively, visibly shivering at the thought of himself and Piper bickering loudly. “Yeah, she’d hand me my ass, and I’m not ready for the kind of humiliation.

“Yeah, I guess we are evenly mediocre with that kind of thing.” Nico laughed quietly, the tiredness overwhelming as he watched Leo speak with content. “Mediocre?! Me!? Excuse you, Nico. You may be mediocre when it comes to the art of verbal challenges, being so sullen like you are, but I, however, am Leo! I grew up talking and shouting, so mediocre verbalist? Not this guy!”

“I think the word is orator.”

“Ahh, shut up.”

Nico watched the other peruse on his tale about his family and past epic arguments he’d won, but ultimately Nico still felt his chest sinking further from lying to the other. His head was not in the right space as he slowly became woozy again. Feverish even.

Leo picked up the queue and made his way down the bed, letting go of Nico’s hand. He noticed the other slowly falling asleep, yawning every once in a while and rubbing at his eyes.

“But really, dude. I am here for you, if you ever need it, okay?” Leo smiled, trying through kindness (actually passive aggressive peer pressure) to reiterate his best of intentions.

Nico blinked up to him as he listened to Leo speak

_ Remember, child, I can cut his throat. _

Nico gave a small smile. “I know.” He said to both.

Leo got up from the bed at this with a nod of his head. He had really hoped that Nico would have said more. Doesn’t the idiot know that the only way to stop this thing was if he talked about it? It was obvious he was keeping secrets, which only made Leo all the more suspicious.

“Leo?” Nico called to him, grabbing his hand and forcing him to stay in the room for just a little longer. “Thank you, by the way. For what you said. It- it uhm, it helped more than you think it did…”

Leo didn’t turn, blush turning into a blaring heat on his face as Nico’s words flushed through him. He let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Yeah, don’t mention it, buddy. Anytime.” He gulped.

“You didn’t have to do that for me, though, so thank you.”

Leo whipped around at that, feeling his hand loosely fall from Nico’s hold.

“Yeah, Nico, of course I did.”

Nico snorted before yawning wretchedly. He fell somberly back down to his bed, signaling that he was done with the conversation. Leo hummed as Nico shifted in his bed, noticing then that the other began to relax underneath the comforters.

“Just get some sleep for now if you can.” Leo said, walking to the bedside and pulling the sheets over the others shoulder. “Thank you.” Nico breathed out, eyes shutting as sleep took over in an instance.

“Anytime buddy.”

He left the room, feeling a little better seeing Nico as Nico, albeit still shaken up.

As he walked out of the medi-tent and walked further into the woods that cover Ogygia, he heard Nico’s voice inside his own head, replaying the little conversation.

“ _You didn’t have to do it for me, though._ ”

Leo let out an angry scowl, hands exasperatedly falling over his eyes as he palmed his own face.

“Of course I had to Nico.” He yelled out to himself, shouts echoing over the barren hills.

In the silence that followed, Leo felt his heart sink as the thought ‘ _I’d do anything for you_.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are the best for sticking with me! X


	4. The Darkness Burns...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo continues to help Nico.

Annabeth, Calypso, Piper, and Hazel were in the Ogygia’s library. Calypso had done major updates to her island. Like she had made three laptops with the help of Leo. Piper sat with a laptop scanning the technological documents as Annabeth searched through all of the physical material with Hazel. The artificial light fell brightly from above, dancing along the floor in a slow and shimmered dance. No one spoke as they studied their texts.

Annabeth seemed to have some idea what she was looking for, if her studious and pleasured hums were anything to go by. She didn’t seem to be offering Hazel any of that information, however.

Calypso sat making notes, whispering to herself and playing with her caramel hair as her eyes ran down the material. Frank and Jason had stayed behind to help clean up after dinner, Frank offering to take Nico’s turn tonight for dishes.

Piper’s scan had finished loading completely and she set forth her search. She sat cross-legged, computer on her lap as she typed with a ferocious speed. Her searches seemed to become more narrow and narrow as the translated texts fell into three different categories: alchemy, spiritual druidry, and witchcraft. Each were separate entities given their various methods, but each allowed for a dark form to take over, showing signs of what had been happening to Nico. She read over the symptoms the dark ‘ _enter alchemy, spiritual druidery, witchcraft here_ ’ had on each subject, but there wasn’t that much of a difference for symptoms under the guise of ‘ _strange voices took over my friend_ ’:

 _Trouble thinking, concentrating, or decision making_. Check. Nico could barely hold a on a conversation long enough to make a response as of late.

 _Changes in appetite, often reduced appetite and weight loss._ Check. Evident by Nico’s current loosening clothes and protruding cheekbones. 

 _Angry outburst, irritability or frustration even over small matters._ Check. He almost gave Leo a black eye when the other accidentally knocked his foot the other day. He yelled some pretty bad things, none of which Leo luckily seemed unfazed by. The other understood that Nico was nowhere near himself from the stress and forgave him, but not without first yelling back.

 _Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming oneself for something that wasn’t their responsibility._ Once again, Check. Nico continued to apologize for his outburst with Leo, and obviously still thought about it. As well, the entire thing with Octavian, everyone knew he still blamed himself for ‘letting Octavian die.’ Jesus, were her teammates all this melodramatic? Was she this melodramatic? Was it contagious? Piper didn’t want to think more into that train of thought.

 _Sleep disturbances including insomnia or sleeping too much._ Check.

 _Tiredness and lack of energy_. Check.

 _Anxiety, agitation or restlessness._  Piper winced at the last symptom, writing down one last mental, Check, sighing in anger. There had been signs all along. But she was allowing Nico to wallow. If she ever felt down, she just wanted time to herself. She had only treated Nico the way she would hope to be treated. The other didn’t like to talk much either, rather sitting off to the side observing introvertedly more than anything. So was this also Piper’s fault? Was she also to blame for allowing the voice to continue on as it had and not speaking with Nico sooner? She shook her head. Okay, now here the melodrama came. She cheekily concluded that it was, in fact, contagious.

Just as she began to study the next set of lists, the lights above her flashed, seemingly losing power. Annabeth looked up at the same time as Calypso, worry evident on her face. Piper felt herself freeze, not moving until Calypso gave a signal.

“Hazel, do you feel that?” The daughter of Atlas asked, face paling as her book fell to the ground. The light surged again like a power outage, trying to keeps its energy from failing. 

“It’s... It’s dying.” Calypso nodded. 

“The life force of my island... it’s fading... it’s like it’s being sucked out and pulled into something else.”

“Wait what, what’s happening?” Piper yelled then, watching the other two jump to their feet. The power disconnected from her computer with a spark and powering it down. The lights snapped off, emitting the area in pure darkness.

When Piper looked down, she noticed a faint blue flowing stream running down the room and out the closed door. It looked like an azure river of circular particles.

Curiously, Piper went to touch it with an outstretched hand.

“Don’t!” Calypso shouted, grabbing her wrist and yanking it away. “It’s the  life force of the island. It’s the stuff that keeps me immortal. Touch it and you will be electrocuted!”

“Wait what? _Electrocuted?_ So you're telling me that that blue stream is the power of the island, the same power and energy that's fueling the your immortality?" Calypso just gazed at her, impressed she had picked up the information at the flick of a switch. "Woah," Piper said, fascinated. She analyzed the tiny waving length at her feet again. "So it's likened to a cable line between utility poles, with flowing power just without it’s outer surface material... That is so cool!” She spoke enamored with the subject, never believing she would actually ever see energy outright being transmitted from one source to another. Not many people knew just how smart Piper really was. Calypso dragged Her outside. Even the sun had gone dark. 

Leo ran down the beach as fast as he could towards the medi-tent. He had been snoozing on the warm sand, watching Jason and Frank finish up the dishes when it all occurred. The lights in Calypsos new kitchen flickered every so often, energy faltering before shutting down with one fateful zap. Luckily they had left the door open.

They saw the blue line flowing out the door like a stream and circled around it curiously, no one saying anything. Leo, being Leo, had kneeled down and was smart enough to touch the damned flowing thing and be horrifically electrocuted by it. A girlish shriek from pain had been wailed, Leo was not happy to admit. He may have been fireproof, but he wasn’t electrocute proof. From this, Frank calmly hypothesized that the blue stream was the island’s power being sucked away, like energy flowing through a power cord, only this was more open and legitimately physical. Leo gave him a growl as he laid literally steaming in a heaped pile on the floor.

“Come on!” Jason grabbed Leo, and thus began their trek down the beach as they followed the line. Leo’s heart sunk, somehow knowing exactly where it was leading too. He ran faster at this, feeling the energy and cold picking up.

He ran frantically to Nico’s room, speed unmatched to both Jason and Frank who were seemingly acres behind him. When they dashed into the medi-tent, they almost stopped from hearing Nico’s whimpered screams from behind his door.

Leo, having made it there first, grabbed and pulled at the entrance. Leo gave an angered shout when it didn't do anything. With no energy remaining in the island, the door wouldn’t open. It wasn’t budging.

“We have to pry it apart!” Frank screeched, hands roughly grabbing the edges as soon as he arrived at Leo’s side. He clasped his hands along side Jason's and Leo’s, and together they all began pulling with all of their might. They noticed the stream starting to grow, legs widening around the middle of the door as they tried to remain safe from harm. The screaming picked up in agony from the new growth in size. All emergency lights would even sometimes stop completely. “It’s made it’s way into the island’s back-up supply-thing!” They heard Calypso from down the hall, Annabeth, Hazel and Piper just beside her wearing their armour. The darkness angered Leo, it only made it more difficult to locate the raven haired boy, and fully grasp what the fuck was going on. As well as eerie Leo noted. This was a straight up Japanese Horror levels of scary, immersive sounds and atmosphere included.

“Guys we have to hurry!” Piper  shouted, as Nico let out a particularly agonising scream, pointing to the ever extending stream of energy flowing on the ground and through the door. She somehow had a crowbar in her hand, shoving past the three men and jumped over the now river. She pushed Leo aside quickly, whamming the crowbar into the opening and began pushing. Jason seemed to pick up the hint and began to help her wrench it open with force.

With both of their efforts, the door began to slide apart, albeit unwillingly.

Frank and Leo took hold of one side of the opening, while Annabeth and Hazel took the other. It was a team effort, but they made it work when the door just seemed to glide open with a swoosh, sweeping to the sides and allowing all the paladins to enter.

The screaming stopped.

Nico stood in the centre of the room, the red and blue lights flickering against his darkened form. His back was turned towards them, his face opposite and staring into the mirror. 

In his hand Nico held his favoured Stygian Iron sword, now lightened up with the same pure blue as it had looked earlier in the camp, the same azure flowing towards him. They could see the stream flowing up towards the sword, moving inside it, the energy extending and forever opening. Leo felt the haunted and dead eyes before seeing them, already knowing that the voice had taken over their friend yet again.

The sword sparkled, literally sparkled, as the particles connected into it from the ground up. What scared Leo the most during his two second observation was how Nico had the sword positioned against his chest, as though he was ready to plunge it deep within himself. His sword would literally drink the soul out of anything it cut.

“No!” Leo leapt forward, trying to grab the sword from the other’s hand. Another yet much more sharp spark of electricity and heat swept over his palms, burning them down to the flesh in an instant. This energy was much stronger than the previous, just having been flowing down the ward. It made sense, this energy had built up and was all locked into that sword and Nico’s body. Of course it would want to near explode Leo’s hands off.

 Leo buckled, holding his extremely burnt palms to his chest. Third degree if he was lucky, he decided. The sword remained in Nico’s hold, which in contrast remained completely fine and healthy. When he looked up, Leo noticed the extreme paleness of his friend’s bony cheeks, only emphasized by his peering gaze. It struck him like a knife in a wound, a tense feeling building up in his chest. Unlike before, Nico's eyes were now completely overtaken in black. No colour remained, almost likened to Gaea’s yet only black rather than the offensive green.

Leo would almost prefer to see Dirt Face’s eyes, or even better would be seeing Nico's dark brown at this point. At least he could handle that. The complete black just meant that the voice had fully taken control, and Leo had no way of knowing if he could get Nico back now or not. He shuttered, his heart throbbing at the thought.

_No._

He was getting Nico back, he had to get Nico back whether Nico liked it or not. He forced it to happen before, he'd do it again. Always. And especially since Leo wasn’t about to allow himself the pity of thinking of a life without Nico, without his creeping up on people, or intense training, or gentle listening, or mediocrely cute and tired glances when he pushed his hair out his face.

Okay, Leo allowed himself the pity of the thoughts, but he wasn’t allowing that situation to actually occur.

“The energy! We need to stop it before it’s too late!” Calypso  shouted, pointing towards the continuing and deepening particles entering the sword.

Nico turned at that, the emotionless expression turning into pure hatred and rage.

“Ni-Nico?” Leo blinked. Nico snarled, using his foot and connecting it with Leo’s chest, throwing him straight into the wall with a power and stride unmatched to anything he’d seen in combat before. Leo felt his head connect to the wall with a snap. He slid down, knees falling forward and onto his stomach. He thought vaguely that if they had to fight Nico, they wouldn’t win. Like he said before, Nico was the best fighter Leo had ever seen.

“Leo!” He thought someone had shouted, further away in his stupor.

“We have to get that sword! Or it’s going to take everything!” Calypso, Leo noted, had yelled. Rising to his elbows, Leo tried to focus his eyes. They were disoriented as his head began to ache with an aggressive pain. He was sure that was blood from where his fingers touched, the gravely burnt skin meeting opened wound on his head, but Leo remained calm. He watched on the floor as the Team took a defensive stance under Annabeth’s command.

“Attack!” She yelled, and they were off, each ready and willing to fight Nico.

Nico shot forward as well.

Leo shook his head as he remained in his sunken position. This wasn’t the way to go about it, he thought miserably. They clashed, a low ringing entering Leo's ears as he winced. He could only remain stunned, and he couldn’t help compare the battle to a stimulator match, but instead of demigod versus training bot it was the harsh reality of demigod versus demigod. Teammate versus teammate; his friends. He choked on that, trying to realize that this wasn’t Nico. Their Nico. But it was his body.

And if their talk had been anything to go by from earlier, and remembering how Nico reacted in the camp, Leo could make a bet that Nico was in there, watching everything happen.

He was probably witnessing first hand his friends attacking him. Leo would have to make a note to reiterate with terrifyingly annoying levels that this was not his fault. Nico was not to be blamed.

But how could he justify that when the look of bloodlust was there, so vivid over Annabeth’s, Piper’s and Frank’s features as they attacked, missed, and dodged Nico’s perfectly kept and striking body.

All of his moves, Leo couldn’t help notice, were perfect, calculating, crafted and experienced. He wasn’t surprised. Whoever it was knew how to use Nico’s skill while also taking risks. Some of his moves were precarious and outgoing, striking or dodging just a little too close to the last second for comfort.

Jason, being Jason, instead ran to Leo during the fight, trying to help the other stand.

In the middle of the battle room, Leo heard Frank shout, “Please be careful Hazel!”

Leo watched as Piper, Frank, Annabeth and Hazel grunted and shouted. They all took turns attacking Nico, one on one, three on one, surprise attacks, defense attacks, offensive strikes. Nico seemed to grasp all of them, never taking a single punch. He did some good damage on his friends though.

Hazel ran to Leo and Jason too, obviously not wanting to fight her brother anymore. Helping with Jason’s hold, they then tried tried to escape the room.

“But, but, this is forbidden ancient alchemy,” Hazel muttered more to herself than anyone. “This is dark, it hasn’t been used in years and forgotten- how is this happening? It must’ve gotten Percy, too. That’s why he was so mean.” She anxiously admitted, and Leo and Jason exchanged bleary yet concerned looks. Percy hadn’t been seen since his outburst, and Leo made a mental note to apologise to him.

Nico swiped the still glowing and absorbing sword from side to side tenaciously, grazing Piper’s left shoulder through her armour. With a pained yelp, Piper fell to the floor on her knees in defence as Frank came in from behind and kicked. Nico seemed to sense this and jumped up high. He turned mid air and stretched out his leg, his foot connecting with Frank’s jaw. Annabeth saw the kick and grabbed the arm Nico had used for momentum when he landed, and flung him over her own shoulder and swiftly down to the ground. Nico didn’t even grunt, he just stood back up with ease, the blue particles now wrapping around his body completely rather than solely the sword.

Piper was crying loudly on the floor as some wispy white air was leaking out of the wound. It was sucking her soul out of her arm. Jason yelled and carried Leo towards the door. The room was extremely big, so it would take them a while to get out. He dropped Leo and ran to her. Calypso was kneeling by her and pouring some nectar onto her arm. Luckily it was healing and the white stuff had all gone back into the wound. Once Calypso had reassured him, Jason ran back to Leo.

Jason looked to Leo once they approached the door. He stilled, Leo moving from their grasp. Still unable to use his burnt and achy hands, he decidedly leaned against the cupboard with Hazel’s help, the door still opened just inches beside them, the energy now flowing like a strengthened river from the ground towards Nico.

Unluckily for the team, whenever Nico moved the stream of energy did too. This meant that whenever someone stepped on it they were horribly electrocuted. Frank found this out the hard way. Nico was constantly moving, which made avoiding it so much harder. If one of the team touched Nico or his sword they would probably die. Leo had been unbelievably lucky, or Nico had been fighting with the voice and saved Leo’s life.

I’m going in,” Jason said, pulling out his sword. Leo was impressed.  He still didn’t know what happened between Jason and Nico  when they met Cupid, ever since Jason had been defending Nico and hated it when someone was mean about him. Now he was ready to fight. Leo weakly thought.

Everyone continued fighting, shouting at Nico to snap out of it. The blue light continued growing larger and larger.

Finally, in a terminating swoop, Nico elbowed Jason’s jaw, surprising him. Apparently the son of Jupiter was immune to this energy. He grabbed the purple shirt by the chest, lifting him with an ease that Leo didn’t think possible and threw him backwards into Piper and Calypso, who tried to catch him. The three collided into the far wall, not unlike Leo had done earlier.

Annabeth, using a long, thick piece of rope (Leo had no idea where found it), extended the rope to try and capture Nico’s legs. He stopped, allowing it to happen. The rope entrapped his blue ankles, and Nico offered a hint of an odd expression with the tilt of his head, hair fluttering past his shoulders.

“I got him!” Annabeth yelled out excitedly. But Leo knew better. The blue particles absorbed quickly into her rope as Nico stopped his movements, thus spiraling down the ropes in a bright blue stream of electricity and striking Annabeth on her chest, burning straight through her armor with a bang. She screamed in pain as she flew to her back, groaning.

Nico stood in the middle of the room. All his teammates on their knees or back, too hurt to get up.

Everything fell in silence, not even the birds chirped. 

Leo could feel it more than he had heard it. It was the voice again, but this time an extension of Nico rather than inside his body. It lurked outside the door before entering with a fowl swoosh and faint screech, rushing past Leo and swirling around the room like wind.

It was jarring during its slow yet evidently increasing tempo and tonal change. It became deafening in a matter of moments. The voice picked up with an intense and sweeping speed, the literal wind moving everything forward, and Leo could feel the shocking stretch of the energy entering through him and towards the dagger. The pain had spiked up in his hand from the intensity, making him shutter. The power and cyclone was moving at an incredible velocity, unparalleled to what Leo had ever witnessed. It moved underneath him, around him and through him, buzzing loudly. It was even beginning to knock over furniture from its efficiency. Frank placed his hand onto Hazel’s shoulder who did the same to Jason, holding onto them as his used her remaining hand to claw into the ground, anchoring herself as they were beginning to be dragged into the centre of the room.

Leo could even feel his feet begin to sway forward, slipping against the floor from its devastating pull.

Nico was trapped in the centre, his body pulled from off the ground. His head was tilted back, drawn harshly towards the ceiling. Leo watched as the energy warped itself around the other, extending from the floor to the ceiling like a particle barrier that they had used from the mermaids to fly back into space. ( **That**  was a _really_ long story.) But this one was more threatening. This one was dangerous, and it was currently using Nico’s sword as its energy source.

Leo’s eyes widened.

That was it! The power was building up from Nico, but the sword remained in Nico’s hands. The sword was like a battery, the connector between energy sources. It was probably using all the souls and darkness trapped in there.

In hindsight, it was so obvious then. Leo could actually see the progression of it all. The energy flew from beneath, entering his sword, then body through his legs, down his arms and through the dagger before releasing into the sky to whatever or whoever was using it.

Leo needed break that connection.

But he would die if he touched Nico, he searched the room for anything that could help him. He smirked when he spotted a massive pile of Nico’s fireproof clothes on top of his chest-of-draws. Somehow he shuffled back into the room and slipped into Nico’s clothes. They were too small because Leo was taller, but they would have to do.

The bright blue wind swept around Nico like a hurricane. Nico’s eyes were extended wide as though in agony. No longer black, they instead glowed a blazing white. His mouth was opened slightly, seemingly stuck in a state of shock and unable to move.

If Leo knew any better, he could tell that what ever the voice had done to overtake his friend for the island’s life force was hurting him. Badly. Like _really_ bad. The son of Hades was in pure agony and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Eyebrows drawn, Leo latched his hands onto the chest-of-draws with a searing pain. Determination was the only factor that made Leo force himself to stand. It burned, by fucking god was it painful, but he needed to do this.

“Nico!” He shouted forward, barely heard over the whipping sounds.

“Nico! Come on, buddy!” Moving one foot forward, he tried to steady himself.

“I’m your friend! Remember?” The words seemed to flow to Nico, who noticeably twitched. The voice continued screeching around them, even louder. Nico gasped, eyes expanding. The energy shot up his body, and Leo felt his grip loosen form the draws. Nico let out a blood curdling scream, tears cascading down his cheeks, but Leo couldn’t stop.

The voice had figured Leo out from their last encounter, extending its power over Nico’s sword. It’d be more difficult this time, Leo idly thought.

Feet sweeping from underneath him, Leo decided his actions with finality.

He let go.

Leo was dragged forward on the ground, being swept away from its high speeds. Thinking quickly and knowing he couldn’t touch the floor’s energy or lest be burned to a crisp, even with the clothes, he used the momentum of the wind to lift himself up from his back and onto his standing feet. He skidded as his body wanted to fall forward as though he were skiing down a mountainside, momentum forcing him to face-plant. Swiftly nearing the pools edge in not even a nano-second, he jumped from the ground and into the chaotic beam, straight for Nico with a scream.

His arms wrapped around the others shoulders and he let himself be tugged. His legs and body swung around, the wind still in control of every movement. It felt exactly as if  he was being sucked out of an airlock and he only had a wall to hold onto. Only this time he was hanging onto Nico rather than a wall.

He used is scrawny muscles and pulled himself in, beginning to hug the other tightly. He tried to get his face closer to Nico’s own, needing the other to hear him and feel him. He could only just feel a small shock, thanks to the clothes.

Together they could beat the voice. Even if he was fried in the process, it was for a just cause right?

Hazel had called out something intangible and the wind changed in frequencies, Nico trying to fight whatever had hold of his body as Leo’s hold seemed to introduce a warmth that hadn’t been there previously. The feeling of human touch connected to the other, and the power began flashing and the screech picked up in anger.

The wind was still too strong, even from inside the hurricane, and Leo was literally hugging Nico  for dear life around his shoulders and chest at this point. Nico’s eyes widened at the touch, no longer from the pain, even blinking softly from the new found feeling.

The wind slowed just a hint, and Leo was able to swing his feet around, now placed himself in front of Nico. The wind was still strong enough that it was forcefully pushing his own body into Nico’s and vice verse, but it was better than being flung from his side. In any other situation Leo would’ve blushed furiously but now was _not_ the time.

Leo tightened his grip, hugging harder which Nico made an audible gasp at. The wind and energy lessened, the glowing of Nico’s eyes flickering as they shut with an agonised sigh.

“You don’t have to handle this on your own, Nico.” He choked out.

The glow of Nico’s pale skin darkened.

The wind decreased then, almost near completion and Leo could feel his feet slowly fall back onto the ground. When his feet did meet floor, the shock and burn of the built up electricity passed through him with a jolt. He swore he saw black from it’s hit, but he only tightened his arms. He placed one hand on Nico’s back and one hand on his head, easing Nico forward into Leo’s own collarbone.

The glowing was still apparent as was the energy underneath, but most was almost calm again.

With a pained breath, Leo said, “It’s going to be okay."

The energy surged and swayed, before dropping off with complete finality. And when Leo dared take a glance, he saw the red outlines of his veins, the energy still sparking through him like a lightning strike hitting the ground.

Leo and Nico both screamed as the pain built up. And while the pain was still evident, the pulses that continued suddenly vanished as the fading energy began to pass through their drained bodies. They felt it enter, spreading with power through their bodies. They were connected together, one and the same, the bridge between junctions. The harsh pulse was amazing and exhilarating yet painful and agonising and nothing had ever been quite like it.

But as soon as it started it slowed, coming to a stop. The blue faded into the background, the remaining bits of life force seeping back into the island’s heart. The reds and blues of the emergency lights suddenly turned back on, flickering in the darkness. Leo sighed with defeat, feeling the release of built up tension in the room.

He felt rather than saw when Nico fell absolutely forward into his embrace, his entire body using Leo as a crutch. And Leo was okay with that. He took his own hand, touching the others hair and pulled Nico’s head into his chest, rather than where his chin had connected to his burnt collarbone previously. He tightened his hold on Nico’s back and Leo could feel tears begin to drip down his face as he sobbed, his chin resting on top of Nico ’s noticeably soft head.

“You’re okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” He spoke honestly.

Nico, barely aware, groaned weakly from Leo’s torn shirt. He hadn’t stopped sobbing. His eyes, which had blinked blearily up to Leo began to fall shut. A tiny moan escaped his raw lips, breath hitting Leo’s face due to their closeness, but Leo could see the colour flowing back into his cheeks. The pinky-pale came back while Nico collapsed completely against Leo, his knees buckling from under him and his eyes rolling into his head. Leo remained sturdy, holding onto the other, still crying. The burns and melted boils were now apparent over both of their skins. Apparently the energy had done a fair amount to Leo and his hands, but it was nothing compared to Nico. Now that the wind and voice were gone, loads of burns and blisters popped up over Nico’s skin. Leo could’ve sworn Nico was literally smoking. _His_  fireproof clothes were burnt into tatters, unlike Leo’s many layers of it.

Obviously Nico could barely breathe, Leo could feel his heart understandingly palpitating without a steady rhythm.

Leo didn’t know how he was even standing, but knew he wouldn’t for much longer.

“Jason?” He called out weakly. The son of Jupiter, somehow realizing the urgency of the non-verbal request, shot forward, grabbing Leo and Nico as they fell to the ground as he placed his hands gently around Leo’s waist, using his chest and inner shoulder as a pillow for Leo’s head. He tried his best to not hurt the other’s body any further. Leo, however, wouldn’t let go of Nico.

Calypso, on the opposite side of the room, ran to Annabeth immediately to address her wounds. The daughter of Athena wasn’t as hurt as they had assumed her to be. From the way she took the shot, Calypso had almost thought the worse for her younger friend. Death seemed to be just around the corner, from her minds eye, already pressing for words to say at the ceremony as a eulogy. Thank the Gods not everything appeared as it seemed.

Annabeth wiped a falling drip of sweat form her brow, Calypso helping her sit up and lean against her side as support. She placed a hand to her battered armour and completely burnt chest. 

Yes, it hurt. Yes, it would scar. Yes, her heart may have stopped for a brief second. But she could still breathe and her heart was once again beating. Annabeth knew all this logically, but had allowed herself a moment of shock. In seconds, she could have been killed. Just like that. And what would have happened then? To her stepmother, her father, her brothers? To the team… She knew she couldn’t dwell, barely recognizing Leo and Nico’s nearly burnt corpses. She allowed a little chuckle, how ironic. A kid of Hephaestus almost died from _burns_. But honestly, she wanted to allow herself some moments of agony before recollecting herself all together. Later, when the others woke, is when they would need her for support. Now was the time she could show some pain, acknowledge that she needed help and wanted someone to hold. A few tears fell from her face as she pressed herself against Calypso’s chest, only to be soon surrounded by Calypso’s gentle and motherly arms. She didn’t care that Percy had a crush on this girl. Calypso was awesome. She weeped silently, the pain more excruciating than she allowed herself to show.

Piper was up and running again, her wound fully healed. Calypso really could heal anything. They were lucky they had her on their team.

Hazel slowly walked over to Jason  after addressing Calypso and Annabeth. Calypso left with the daughter of Athena to start the healing pods and medical beds that she had installed in the medi-tent. Tonight was to be a long night for everyone.

Hazel, kneeling on one knee, calmly yet feebly unclenched the death grip Leo had around the son of Hades. Using no words and exhausted sympathetic eyes, Hazel maneuvered Nico until she could hold him in her arms, one hand hooked underneath Nico’s knees and the other holding him along his shoulders and backside. Nico’s head was tucked away into Hazel’s chest, resting not at all serenely. Nico had lost so much weight that he could be lifted by Hazel.

Leo remained awake, taking in the sight of the chaotic room. He laughed softly with his smirked side grin, “I don’t care...” He began to cough out. Jason noticed how he sounded like someone who was just saved from a burning house and had ingested all of the toxic fumes. He thought about this, guessing the idea hadn’t strayed too far from the truth.

Yet Leo stubbornly continued, needing to diffuse the situation, “I don’t care what he says anymore, something is definitely going on.” Jason and Hazel gave each other a look as Leo finally passed out against Jason, the burn on his cheeks overlapping the sad smile still somehow held on his face.

As Jason picked up Leo, both he and Hazel had to laugh at what was said.

What else could they do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for sticking with me! X


	5. We Are The Forgotten. You Will Remember Us.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay, maybe the last chapter, maybe not!

When Nico woke up about 8 days later, he hadn’t exactly expected it to be with 12 different pairs of eyes staring down at him, literally inches from his face.

He almost screamed. (He did, however, let out a manly squeal.)

“Uh, hi guys?” Was his awkward hello to the group.

The sigh of relief that ran through his friends was painfully visible.

Looking around, he realized he wasn’t in one of the healing crypods that Calypso had. That much was obvious, but rather he laid in a bed. A medic bed.

Alrighty then.

“Thank the fucking Gods,” Leo was the first to speak, arms crossed and stern from where he sat. “We were worried you were going to shoot up in the magical space beam again.”

Calypso sighed from the corner. “Leo, we told you. It’s called quintessence.”

Nico, while left unperturbed by this information, instead glanced towards Leo, taking in his bandaged body. His hair was shorter, probably cut from the burnt edges that had endured most of the strain of the electricity. It was exactly as it had been when they first met now that Nico thought about it. It had been getting a little long for the other’s liking, when Nico remembered all of their prior breakfasts chats when Leo went on about how his hair was doing the flippy thing for ages, and how knotted it was getting. Nico had simply suggested a hairbrush.

Leo wore a simple white t-shirt, pyjama pants, and slippers and Nico couldn’t help but stare. Leo was the physical embodiment of a mummy. There was a myriad of bandages etched over every bit of his displayed skin. It started on each arm from his shoulders, swirling down to he tips of only some of his fingers. There were some on his neck, and even a few on his face and around Leo’s head. Nico winced. It took him a while to realise he was worse, only his face wasn’t covered with the bandages, but he couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty and extremely sore.

He had done that. Those bandages were there and his friend was hurt because he couldn’t keep that damned voice at bay. He shuttered remembering everything that had transpired. How the voice called out to him, lulled him into a depressive state, leaving Nico with yet another out of body experience. His body hadn’t been his own again, and he had watched from the sidelines as he attacked his friends.

He had no control, he had absolutely no control and Nico hated it when he felt like he had no control. It was like being on the run again never getting to choose where or when his next home was, only getting kicked out at random when he was just starting to fit into the routine of things.

It was horrible.

And then the words Leo had said, at the camp and later in the middle of the bedroom entered Nico’s mind. “ _You’re okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you, I’ve got you_.” The Latino boy had whispered. There had been no lie there.

And when he felt Leo’s arms wrap around him, the energy just seemed to drift away.

Nico was left in a daze, the memory of how it felt when the energy had passed through only the two of them reconnecting. It was though they were one, the bond ever increasing but the intensity ten fold. It had honest to the Gods felt like they had melted together, there was no beginning or ending Leo or Nico, it was only Leo & Nico together. No beginning, middle, or end.

He recalled how after, when he collapsed against the warm body of the other, how he had felt wrapped around his heated arms, his own cold form savouring it to pieces. Nico could barely stand, too exhausted, too hurt, not even feeling his legs when they dropped from under him. All he knew was the supporting feeling of Leo’s chest, the nice constant sound of his heartbeat. It was a rhythm he wanted to memorize, even if it had been a little unsteady. It felt safe there, as if he never moved the noise or the pain would never reach him again.

He had heard Leo sobbing above him. From pain, happiness, anguish, Nico hadn’t known. He had just wanted the crying to stop.

Why was he crying? What would make Leo cry? Such a beautiful person doesn’t deserve to cry. Please stop crying, the happiness was better. Safer….

The next thing he knew was this: 12 eyes hovering over him, judging him obviously, silently, and very much deeply.

Holding a sturdy gaze with Leo, that strange warm feeling in his chest increased. Nico blinked in confusion at it, shaking his head and said, “Thanks guys, again… I don’t think you know how much I appreciated it…”

There was a warm blush spreading on his face, and Leo snorted in the distance. “Do you even remember what happened this time?”

“No, no I don’t…” He admitted with a hint of shame. The ‘ _I don’t remember all of it_ ’ left unspoken, becoming just another pink elephant in the room.

Hazel cleared her throat, picking up her queue. “I have an honest idea,” She stated. She bit her lip when she turned to her brother.

“Have you been hearing voices, Nico?”

Nico made a noise at the proposition, hating how weak it made him sound. He twiddled his thumbs as he shimmied further down the bed, but nodded all the same.

“I need a verbal response, Nico.”

Nico clenched his eyes shut with a snide growl.

“Yes.”

“And the voices, what do they sound like?”

“I-I don’t know,” Nico expressed honestly.

“You don’t know what they sound like? I thought you just admitted to hearing voices for a while now?” Leo shouted out untrustingly, which only made Nico flinch. “Dios mio, I cannot believe this. After saving your ass thrice now you still don’t trust us enough-”

“But it’s true, though!” Nico exclaimed sitting up, turning to Leo with wide and fretful eyes. He needed Leo to believe him, so he cut the other off abruptly which seemed to work with his hurried tone. “The sounds, or at least the one sound, it changes.” He spoke frantically towards the Latino boy. Leo lifted an eyebrow, resuming to listen to Nico’s words. “It’s always from the same source, the same thing, but it’s always different. Sometimes it’s murmuring, sometimes it speaks in a different language, sometimes it’s buzzing or an intense ringing, sometimes it just screams like it’s dying…”

“But it’s always there.” Piper pointed out lightly. Nico turned to the daughter of Aphrodite and nodded.

“Is there a sound it does more often than others?” Hazel pushed further.

“Yeah, it’s speaks more than anything. But not in English, it only sometimes says things in English when it’s really trying to get to me, I guess. Or only when I’m close to losing it.”

“So it’s a different language mostly?”

Nico hummed his response. “But like through a door or a static radio sometimes. It’s like it’s murmuring or crying from a conversation that you aren’t supposed to hear. It’s there, but you can’t pick up the words.”

Calypso crossed her arms with a tightened nod. “This is exactly what I feared it to be.” She spoke up.

Nico suppressed his own dire surprise, since Leo did it for him.

“Exactly what you expected?!” He declared angrily. “You said you wouldn’t expect anything until you had evidence, which you haven’t received until just now. What possible idea have you been stewing up that you all of a sudden you say it’s ‘ _as you expected_!’ What the fuck, Calypso.”

“Calm yourself, Leo.” She said sternly and with aggression. “I had to wait and hear from Nico his own experiences, then I would have known for sure that my hypothesis was correct. Which it was, by the way,” She replied smoothly.

“What is your hypothesis, Calypso?” Percy asked, hands underneath his butt as he shimmied himself towards her with interest and content from his too small stool. Leo had apologised to him and so had Hazel, so everyone was back on good terms.

Eyes closed and withdrawn, Calypso said, “Hazel and I believe that dark alchemy has attached itself to your sword. Or rather... well... _**you**_.”

Everyone’s eyes popped out, because that wasn’t the conclusion their minds had come to.

“You seem to hold true alchemic properties, and whatever has been using you knows that. It is talking through your sword as an icon to transmit itself energy; an act banned and seen as rueful, may I add..”

“What kind of dark alchemy are we talking about here?” Annabeth spoke up, Her chest wound was still bandaged heavily all around her torso and shoulders, which she thought was a bit overdone, but kept her mouth shut since she knew it eased Percy's concern. She knew she would need to take it easy physically for the next week, already monitoring her heart rate for Percy’s reassurance more than anything. She sat on the bed, a blood pressure test circulating tighter around her upper arm. After the predicament, Pidge had spent three days in the healing pod, but had asked Calypso to be released early if it seemed Nico was close to waking up, no matter what. Annabeth was nearing 80% healed and still had some time left, but Calypso kept true to her words, releasing her early to see her friend awaken. She could always go back in after the fact.

“That is what we’re unsure about.” Calypso explained carefully, hands folding together. She sat on the opposite bed as Nico, regarding him with sympathetic eyes.

Frank turned to sit beside Annabeth on her own medic bed, her hospital gown brushing past her knees.

Hazel remained standing beside Nico, leaning against his bed with one hand against her hip. Leo moved over and stood guarded on Nico’s other side, arms crossed and intense.

Calypso began her story:

“You see, the Killachromian’s were once a great alliance with the Gods over a million years ago. But they specialized in alchemy and herbal medicine. Their part of the planet was rich with energy and an abundance of natural resources; it was easy to understand how they developed such in depth knowledge of their craft.

However, some of these few individuals developed what was called a dark alchemy. This type of alchemy was used millions of years ago, specifically in order to harm others, rather than the typical mechanical or medicinal use of alchemy seen.

They would create or give birth to an object or person such as you or your sword, and use it as an icon to store and transmit energy. And I’m not just talking about small portions here, I mean the icons could hold and store innumerous amounts of power, or in this case quintessence, which is the energy and fuel almost all our planets run on to survive. It’s similar to water.

However, if the dark alchemists had enough quintessence built up within their icons, and with the right alchemic properties at their disposal, they could, and would, destroy entire planets using their techniques. These people wanted power and control, and they had the dark knowledge to do so. If an individual didn’t listen, they would simply terminate you or your entire continent in just a few seconds. Did you ever wonder why there were only 7? My father once told me that no one has ever heard of them because they tried to use their powers against the Gods.”

Calypso sighed, watching as Leo placed a hand on Nico’s shoulder, squeezing it in support. Nico continued to look down, guilt evident across his face, fingers scratching anxiously together.

“Obviously, this sort or knowledge and power wasn’t allowed, and it took many years to reign in and ease the damage that had been done. Zues, was one of the first to begin the resistance, one which they eventually succeeded. They fought the last of all the dark Killachromian’s and destroyed their manuscripts. You see, my grandfather had defeated them brilliantly by using their own tactic against them. We demigods and the Nymphs and-well,-everyone  banded together and learned how to yield and enforce our own quintessence. We use it within ourselves, while the Killachromians needed an object or person rather than their own bodies to activate it.”

“Wait, wait, wait, back up a little-. The Gods and their children?!” Jason deadpanned, exasperated.

Calypso’s eyes twitched.

“Yes, Jason, we were once an alliance. Now hush!.”

"In battle, we took their own energy away. They had been left defenseless, and immediately imprisoned. After this, all dark alchemy of the Killachromian people was banned to exist. Too many places, and even a couple of planets, were destroyed, and even the pollution from the destruction was having an effect on our galaxy."

“So these species weren’t allowed to use their magic at all? What would happen if they had?” Piper  asked.

“Well, for the Killachromians, we were able to diffuse their abilities. Kind of like sucking the life out of an alcornus alpacas-“ Hazel had interrupted, no one quite grasping what that meant. Hazel looked embarrassed. “Sorry, don’t worry about that. Forget I said anything.” 

“But, like I said, once anyone understood how to yield the power, anyone could use it. So to answer your question Annabeth, if a Killachromian or another being and were caught using the dark properties, they were to be terminated on spot.” Calypso stated. “The Killachromian’s only defined the craft, researched it and became experts, but anyone can use it. It’s like learning an instrument, or understanding a different language. It may not be part of your culture, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ever adapt it into your life.” Calypso sighed, continuing on.

“But it appeared as though we didn’t destroy all of the manuscripts. It was used when my Father, Atlas, was still in power. I was on this island by this point, I’ve only just recently read the reports...” This seemed to hurt Calypso more than she would have liked to admit, not being there when her father needed her. She inhaled a shaky breath while bravely continuing forward. “Someone had taught themselves the craft and they too began to use it for the worst. In fact, it was the last son of Jupiter before you, Jason, who witnessed the last known event of Killachromian dark alchemy.”

Calypso straightened, turning towards Nico. “You hold properties of Killachromian alchemy. Someone has tapped into that ability and turned your properties into dark alchemy. You are being used to hold perpetual amounts of quintessence, and whoever has been speaking to you has used your sword as their link. It seems to want your quintessence energy for some reason.” She spoke thoughtfully.

Nico outwardly winced at this. She lifted her hands up, gesturing for him not to fret. “It’s not your fault, Nico, but we must find out who is contacting you, or how they changed over the alchemic properties to that of dark alchemy. I don’t personally understand all of the algorithms behind it, though, this alchemic stuff has never my hard-boiled egg in the morning-” 

“ _What_?” Frank asked, extremely confused.

“Oh, you know. Something I didn’t find understand all that well. That saying?” Percy shook his head. 

“That-That’s not really the saying but let’s just drop it.” Nico cracked a smile, he found it very amusing that Calypso misused modern language. He had been just like it when he had just come out of the Lotus Casino. The voice was currently leaving him alone, which he was very grateful for. 

Piper smirked, “That’s okay, Calypso. Leave the talking to me” Calypso’s eyes glossed over and she closed her mouth tightly. Piper’s face fell. “Stupid charmspeak. It’s okay Calypso carry on.” The effect wore off, and Calypso looked extremely confused.

“What happened?” 

“Nothing...” Piper burst out laughing, soon their conversation had become mindless chatter. For once, Leo was quieter than everyone else. He looked down at Nico, who was anxiously fidgeting with his fingers, his ADHD was kicking in.

“Do you hear the voice at all now, Neeks?” Leo asked quietly, forcing Nico to also tune out the others' proceeding conversation. Nico slowly looked up, and sighed with a shake of his head. He looked towards his own bandages and the medical bed, more questions raising. 

“That’s good.” Calypso had overheard Leo and Nico’s quiet interaction. Noticing Nico’s questioning gaze, she elaboratated. “I'll admit, it's more of a superstition, but if someone were ever in the same area as dark alchemy, they were never allowed near the controls of a ship or a healing pod, since we fear the dark alchemy may override the system. Or in this case, the individual in charge of the voice would have the power to override the system through you... This is why you aren't in a healing pod." 

Nico made an understanding expression with a nod of his head. He could feel Leo shrug stiffly next to him.

"However, the voice is getting much stronger, so we don’t have much time to lose. Come on everyone, we must start preparing.”

Nico remained silent the entire time during the exchange. He sat up in his bed, moving the dagger in his hand from the his bed's tableside. He stared at it, analyzing it. He was the one with the alchemy thing-y, so why use his sword? He thought about getting rid of it, but he knew it wouldn’t work. As part of their bonding experience, Leo had somehow enchanted his sword so that it was like Percy’s. It would just come back. _Yippee_. Then a horrible thought struck him.

“Calypso, you... you said that the Gods destroyed everyone and everything that possessed the alchemic properties. Do you need to _kill_ me, to stay safe?” The team was shocked by Nico’s question, Leo obviously more than anyone else. But he needed to know. He didn’t like it, in fact, he hated the idea, but he couldn’t put everyone else in danger, just because he was weird. He immediately regretted his comment, because a familiar voice croaked in his head. 

 _Of course they’ll kill you. They aren’t your friends. They don’t care about you. You’re so pathetic_.

Nico had enough. His annoyance exploded. Dark tendrils sucked the warmth out of the air around him, the floor cracked and about 30 skeletons pulled themselves out into the world of the living.

“Just _**SHUT UP!!**_ ” He screamed, although he knew there was no point. The voice was in his head. No one could help him. He might as well just go away.

_Come to me._

Nico passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading until the end of this chapter! X


	6. We Are The Lost. You Will Find Us.

Leo was bored of being on skeleton duty. After Nico passed out, they were expecting the skeletons to just crawl back into their hole.

How very wrong they were. 

Instead they kept trying to get to Nico, who was still passed out on his medi-bed. They were all armed with swords and bludgeons that would’ve made Coach Hedge jealous. Leo wanted to know how they had gotten there, as far as he knew, no one had died on Ogygia, let alone 30, but that was soon shoved to the back of his head as he had to knock the head off a particularly nasty dead pirate. He huffed as it just reformed, he and the team were losing their energy quite quickly but on the other hand, Nico’s skeletons didn’t seem to stop at all. He, Annabeth, Percy, Jason and Frank were all trying to keep them away, while Calypso, Piper and Hazel were all trying to wake Nico up. It wasn’t working. He didn’t know why they were actually fighting the skeletons, they were only trying to help Nico, but apparently Annabeth and Percy had seen the damage that these things could actually do. They just wanted to be safe, rather than sorry. Leo needed to take a breather. He heard Annabeth shout something like, “ _Get your sorry ass back in formation, Valdez!_ ” Gods, did that girl make him giggle. He pushed past the girls to Nico’s bed and, because he was short (not as short as Nico) he could stand to the side of Nico’s bed and look straight into his eyes. He grabbed Nico and shook him vigorously. 

“Wake up! Please, we need you,” And he added so quietly that only Nico would be able to hear him, “ _I_ need you.” Nico’s eyes snapped open. He whispered something inaudible and the skeletons turned around and jumped back into the ground. Just like that.

“Thanks.” Leo hugged him tightly, and, for once, Nico didn’t pull away from him. Now that he was awake, although barely, Calypso answered his question. 

“At this point in time, no. We are safe.” Nico managed a small smile.

“Yippee!” He said. But Calypso wasn’t finished.

“Besides, only the dark alchemists know the true words to destroy you, nothing else will be able to even harm you as you contain too much of the quintessence. So, simply, we just need to transfigure the chemical properties, then you can return to your old ways, transmitting the quintessence back to their original sources.” Nico huffed sarcastically,

“ _Yippee_.”

Leo scoffed,

“Yeah. Simply.” 

Nico sighed at this, falling slightly over himself while Calypso kept talking, his hair sweeping past his face in protection.

Leo made a small sound, reaching forward in worry for his overturning friend. But noticing no real harm, he stayed back, one hand still on the other’s shoulder. Leo felt Percy’s eyes looking at him, piercing at him strangely. He looked up and quirked his eyebrows at the older one’s odd expression. Percy shook his head, gesturing back to Calypso.

“For now, we have to find the Killachromian’s, or those who were at least in the most contact with the Killachromians before their complete termination. From what we understand, the last of their people died out from the war against the Titans a few hundred years ago. They always held special hatred towards them.”

“And who might that be, Calypso? The species last involved with the Killachromians?” Percy asked sternly.

“I guess you wouldn’t know Percy, but Piper, Jason, Leo? Do you remember the place you found in Argentina which was hidden by the mist? With the Mascalons on the from Mascalon? They were great friends and loyalists to the Killachromians”

“UUGHHHH!” Leo loudly announced his discontent to the room. Piper laughed loudly at this, remembering how Leo hated the Mascalons. Oh this was spectacular. She was sure some of their fur was still in his tool belt now that she thought about.

“We’re going back to Planet Fluffballs?!” Leo drawled on.

Allura nodded her head. “Yes, as soon as a raft appears. Then you can leave, I need to go to navigate us back here, and Nico has to go as well. Who else is coming?” They decided that Percy, Frank and Piper would be joining them.

Now all they needed was a raft.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for sticking with me until the end of this chapter! Sorry for the short chapter, it’ll be longer next time! X


	7. Remember Us.

Leo was worried. He knew ever since he kissed Nico that he had been harbouring feelings for the younger boy, and he wasn’t going on the quest with him, Percy was. He knew, no matter how much he tried to deny it, Nico still carried a torch for the son of Poseidon. The other thing was that, you just couldn’t hate him. Leo honestly didn't think that he could have ever been gay, not with all the women he chased after, and not after Calypso...

When he had discovered Nico's own little secret, however, he had realized that it was an actual thing to like boys, and it was Nico himself that became the target of these affections. Leo had of course been exposed to homosexuality before, just never by way of someone he actually knew in his own life. Ever since his epiphany, however, he'd find any excuse to hang around Nico and spend time talking to the enigmatic Son of Hades.

Leo's own feelings began running deeper once they had grown closer, and he chose to not fight them. He had confided these emotions only to Piper, who had told him to go for it whenever he was ready. Percy was the one obstacle, however, at least in Leo's mind.

Leo pulled on his clothes and stumbled outside of the medi-tent to see Nico and Percy walking towards the forest. He felt a pang of jealousy so he ran to catch them up.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Hey guys, where are you heading?” Leo had caught sight of them and had darted over to them from the medi-tent. Nico was grateful of this, because his and Percy’s conversation was getting awkward. Leo hooked his lean arms around both of their shoulders, grinning like an idiot. Nico blushed furiously, the heat rising up his neck and flowing into his face. He tried to shrug  Leo off, but being shorter and younger he couldn’t. He blushed even harder when Leo pulled him up against his side. However Percy just laughed and pulled his arm off from his shoulders, so Leo was solely draped over Nico. But he didn’t tense up. He was trying to make an effort with Leo after the older boy saved him multiple times, he needed Leo to know that he was extremely grateful. 

_Don’t get too close to him. I know how you feel. I'll put his head on a spike_ _. And then I’ll-_

It painted a vivid picture on Nico’s eyes, he shivered violently. It knew about his... _feelings_. _**For Leo.**_ Leo stopped.

“Are you alright? Are... Are you hearing _it_ again?” 

“Y-Ye-” Nico’s voice cracked so he just nodded. Leo’s face fell. Percy turned and left while mumbling,

“See you guys later...” He seemed to not like being around Nico when the voice spoke to him. He seemed to think that he might be possessed again. He pulled his arm off of Nico’s shoulders and placed it on his shoulder.

“What’s it saying?” Nico shuddered, 

“I-I... can’t. Please. I can’t. _I CAN’T_.” He screamed.

_Slit his throat. Rip his teeth out. Pull his ears off. Bend his toes until they snap._

“Hey, hey. Look at me. Don’t listen to it. Keep your eyes on me. It’s lying. C’mon I know you can. Block it out” Leo told him.

_Gouge his eyes out. Rip his nails off. Or I will._

“No you WON’T” Nico yelled. He grabbed Leo’s shirt protectively. Leo held onto him tightly.

“Hey. I’m fine, see. I’m fine.” He put his head on the top of Nico’s. In Nico’s moment of venerability Leo pressed a featherlight kiss on the top of Nico’s head. A couple of minutes later Nico calmed down. He hated being seen as such a weak part of the team, but the things that were just said...

Leo let go of Nico and put his hand on his shoulder, while looking into his eyes. Gods, could he stare into those deep brown eyes forever if Leo would let him.

“You good?”

Before he got an answer, however, he felt two thin, but toned arms encircle his waist and pull him in for another hug. It was a miracle that he didn't explode into flame then and there, so he was extra careful when returning the embrace.

“Yeah... I’m good.” 

Leo smiled.

“You’re so hot,” Nico blushed, “I mean, how are you not on fire? If you explode on me right now I’ll slap the man outta you, you lil’ shit.” Nico muttered, causing Leo to laugh heartily. He didn’t know why he found it so funny, but he did. Nico liked the feeling of his friend's warm body reverberating with that laugh; he'd never felt something that nice before. It was a shame that Leo wasn’t coming on the quest with him. He would have liked that. 

Nico and Leo walked back to his room to pack for his quest. It didn’t take him very long, because he didn’t have many clothes, so when he finished the two of them walked back outside to the makeshift Big House that Calypso had made. 

Yet again, Leo threw his arm around Nico’s back, but this time it was serious, until, 

“Don’t die out there, okay?” Leo joked, reveling in the feeling of Nico's smaller form nestled so perfectly into his own for that short moment.

"The only one who'd end up dying anywhere is Cupid, if that jackass ever comes across me again" Nico grouched. Leo smiled but said seriously, 

“But, please. You can contact me whenever you want. About anything. If it gets to much, call me?” 

“I promise.” 

The Big House came into sight, and so did the people on the porch. They found the others kissing their girlfriends/boyfriends passionately on the steps of the Big House. Nico bit his lip in order to keep from staring at Percy, and Leo's eyes followed the exchange jealously.

"So, di Angelo, do I get a goodbye kiss like that or...?" he said loudly, trying to not sound eager by masking it with a joke. Nico rolled his eyes, but the desired effect was there. The other two couples pulled apart swiftly, Percy grinned at Leo's 'joke' while Piper smiled knowingly. Leo took it even further by proffering his lips and puckering up obnoxiously, causing the others to snicker as Nico swatted him away. The pink coloring to his cheeks was worth it, in Leo's eyes. 

Leo and Nico headed down to the beach, to find Calypso standing in front of the raft. No one really understood how it appeared, for no one had their heart broken this time, yet here it was. 

“There’s a problem.” She said. Leo squinted at the raft. It was too small. It would never fit three of them. Part of Leo had hope that, maybe, just maybe, Nico wouldn’t have to go. But he knew that Nico had to go. He turned to Calypso. 

“I know this is gonna sound weird, but hear me out. Calypso, can you try, like, _telling_ it to grow into a ship?” Calypso gave him a funny look, before she sighed. 

“On your head be it, Valdez.” She faced the tiny raft. “... Hey, Mister Rafty. Would you, I don’t know, grow up into a ship for me?” To everyone’s surprise, it actually worked. Now a reasonably sized ship, the raft sat floating gently in the Mediterranean waves. Leo started laughing. 

The other boys on the quest waddled down the beach to the elegant ship they were about to board. 

Before they geared up to sail to Argentina, however, Nico ran over to Leo and pulled him out of sight from the rest of the team. 

“You alr-” He was cut off by Nico, who stood on his tiptoes, blushing madly. Nico quickly pushed his lips onto Leo’s cheek, before running off, back down the beach, waiting for the signal that they could climb on board the boat. Leo was frozen solid, he didn’t know what to do. The icy burn those lips left on Leo's skin was so searing that he figured it might always remain there, which was fine with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for sticking with me until the end of this chapter! X


	8. The Darkness Burns...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico, Jason and Percy never make it to Argentina...

Leo watched with a somber expression on his face as he watched Percy, Jason and Nico sail away into the sunset. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, her turned to look at Piper, who whispered, 

“Can we talk?... In private?” Leo just nodded and followed her as she walked down the long hallways that Calypso had installed over the island. 

“You did really well with him, by the way.” Piper began confidently, as if this wasn’t as difficult for her to watch as it was for Leo. Hell, knowing their history, this was probably killing Piper to experience. And that wasn’t something Leo also needed to think about on top of everything.

“I don’t think anyone else would have been able to get through to him like you did.”

Leo scoffed and looked the other way as he flushed, trying to still play it cool. ‘ _Yeah right_ ,’ Leo  thought. ‘ _Anyone probably could have done that. They just needed to apparently hug the life back into Nico, and ta-da, he was back. It’s an amazing thing what a hug can do to touch-starved people, amiright?_ ’

“Leo, listen, I know emotions might be running high, and things are getting pretty intense…” Piper took her hand off of Leo’s shoulder as she looked away sheepishly, hand gestures slightly awkward. “If you ever need anyone to talk to about anything, we’re all here for you, okay? And I’m always here for you too.”

Leo shrugged his shoulders, hoping this conversation wasn’t actually taking place right after Nico had woken up and admitted to hearing voices.

“Always.” Piper restated, with pressure.

“I don’t need to talk ‘bout anything.” Leo mumbled into his shoulder childishly.

Piper gave a small laugh, remaining calm and patient through this scenario. “You may not fully realize what’s happening yet, and that’s fine. But please don’t take it lightly. You’ve really changed Leo, you’ve really come into your own. I know I see it. I know Jason sees it. And I know Nico definitely hasn’t failed to realize it either.” She spoke with a sly grin, emphasizing on Nico in that particular sentence. What was happening right now, Leo wondered briefly, his paces quickening.

“What does Nico have to do with my changing?” Leo’s voice started to get a little more shrill. The flush across his face was becoming noticeable levels of red by this point.

“Oh, just-“ Piper started, rubbing the back of her head. This wasn’t going the way she had planned. She was never very good with this type of thing surprisingly. “You know, you two just started at the beginning of our quest with you being afraid and mean to him. But you two have grown, especially you. I don’t know if old Leo would ever have shot himself to save Nico quite like you did. And I know he really appreciates it.” Piper spoke honestly needing Leo to know that meant what she said.

She knew Nico’s history, Percy had told her. And it was because of Leo Nico was alive. 

Piper needed Leo  to know this. Percy himself, who had confided in Piper, while loved by Nico, never would have gotten through to him the same way or as effectively as the younger boy had.

“He lost his family, of course he’d appreciate it. And I’d do it with anyone of you, too…” Leo  continued to mutter pathetically. He would hate to admit to it but his blush was enhancing ten fold, if that were even possible.

“Yesss,” Piper drawled out. “But, okay.” She placed her hand on her face, pinching her nose. “I guess, it’s just- I grew quite close to Nico.”

A wild struck of jealousy appeared. Piper used Awkward Child of Aphrodite talks. Embarrassment damaged Leo by 20 HP. Leo was in shock. He couldn’t reply.

“And I understand that you two are only 15, and things are still changing. Hell, I’m only 15 and things are still changing and developing for me,” Piper confessed with embarrassment. She quickly shook her head, shooting certain thoughts out of his mind, far, far away…

“But no, that’s besides the point! I know there are only 9 people on this island, and tension can get high. And sometimes things change, feelings change,” Piper prolonged the words, “and then before you know it,…. I uhm…. You, well…. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I care a lot for Nico, and I want to see him happy. And I care a lot for you too, and I want to see you happy. And if you two help make the other one happy, then that makes me happy-“

“What are you alluding to here, Piper?!” Leo asked rather angrily, baring his teeth. “I don’t _like_ Nico. It’s like I said, he lost his family, but he has one here. So I helped him, and I’d do it again for anyone of you.” He argued loudly, chest puffing out to make himself appear bigger.

“Okay,” Piper said trying to calm the other one down. She shook her head, deciding not to continue on with her so called planned speech. “But if you ever need someone to talk to about, uhm, all of this,” she pointed to around the hallway. Leo offered a confused expression. “You know, Ogygia, stuff, missing home, I get it. We all get it. We are here to listen, Leo. Even if you just need a shoulder to complain on.”

The fight died in Leo. After all, she was probably his best friend left on the island with him. He sighed. 

“I’m sorry Beauty Queen. He...  He... To put it plainly... He means the world to me. Even if I don’t mean anything to him. I would do anything for him. And I think I’m making progress with him! At least... At least I think so.” Piper smiled knowingly. 

“Being a kid of Aphrodite and all... I can’t actually _sense_ when someone is in love with another, or even a crush! But I can tell when someone _cares_. And he _cares,_ so, so much about you. Don’t you ever forget that. No matter what happens. Promise me.” And that is why Leo and Piper were best friends. He couldn’t speak, so he just nodded and smiled with grateful tears in his eyes. “Come on, Leo. I found this really cool place that I know you’ll love.” They took a right turn and headed towards the jacuzzi room. And Leo was temporarily distracted from the growing worry in his stomach that something on that ship was going to go horribly, horribly wrong. Of course, he was right.

 

* * *

 

The ship containing Nico di Angelo, Jason Grace and Percy Jackson never made it to Argentina.

 

* * *

 

Nico watched the horizon that belonged to the island of Ogygia fade into the clouds that hide it from view, taking with it the view of a small figure on the beach. That silhouette belonged to Leo Valdez. Nico had finally decided to accept the fact that he had a crush on Leo. He didn’t _mean_ too, but he couldn’t help it. He was the one to keep Nico sane. 

_I’ll get him first. I’ll pull his arms until they come out of their sockets. I’ll bend his legs back until his muscles tear. I’ll rip his spine out through his mouth. I’ll drill into his eyes until I feel his brain explode. I’ll stab him until he has no skin left. But if you come to me... I’ll leave him alone.  You won’t have to feel anymore. Have you not had a... troubled love life in the past?_

Nico glanced over at Percy, who was laughing with Jason. 

“Please... Please. Don’t hurt him. I’ll come to you. _Just don’t hurt him._ ” Nico whispered to himself. But the voice had returned to speaking a language that Nico didn’t understand. He calmly walked towards the staircase that led down to belowdeck. He found his room and entered it, his eyes glanced over at a large TV stuck on his wall. Illuminated on the screen was a pretty, middle aged woman with curly blonde hair. 

“ _Demons run when a good man goes to war._

_Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war._

_Friendship dies and true love lies when a good man goes to war._

_Night will fall and the dark will rise when a good man goes to war._

_Demons run, but count the cost. The battle’s won, but the child is lost._ ”

Nico didn’t know why it made him feel uneasy. Then the TV flickered. A few creepy, doll-like women spoke in a singsong voice, 

“ _Tick tock goes the clock._

_And what now shall we play?_

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_Now Summers gone away?_

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_And what then shall we see?_

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_That thou shalt marry me._

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_And all the years they fly,_

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_**You and I must die.** _

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_**He cradled her and rocked her.**  _

_Tick tock goes the clock._

_**Even for the Doctor**._ ”

Nico heard a blood curdling scream above him. He ran up the stairs to the deck, only to find himself ankle deep in blood. It soaked through his shoes and oozed through his socks. Nico noticed the sky had become a dark grey with mist hanging low, Percy and Jason were no where to be seen. Nico started to panic. He was a son of Hades, not Poseidon. He had no idea where he was. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a mangled body dropped onto the deck in front of him. Nico reeled back, horrified. His feet sloshed around in the deep red liquid. He knew this boy. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, was dead. Body slumped over, spine missing, arms dislocated, legs bent at an unnatural angle, and the most gruesome, his sea-green eyes and tanned skin were gone. The only way Nico knew it was Percy was the camp necklace that Percy always wore was still hanging around his neck. 

Jason was next. 

Soon, it was raining bodies, all broken and bent like the voice had described it would do to Leo. It was everyone Nico knew and liked. Will Solace from the Apollo cabin. He had been Nico’s doctor and friend at camp. Clarisse La Rue. She hadn’t been afraid of Nico and would always make an effort to try and make him feel at home. Nico stood there frozen, bodies falling all around him until... 

Leo Valdez’s rumpled, broken form fell from the clouds. Nico chocked out a pathetic cry. He stumbled towards the body, trying his best to avoid treading on his dead friends. He fell to his knees, and rocked the lifeless body of Leo Valdez. 

_ I told you. I warned you.  _

Nico screamed. He screamed until his throat tore. But Leo wasn’t coming back.

Nico’s powers reacted, even though they were in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The ship tore itself to pieces.

 

* * *

 

Jason ran up to the deck when he heard a heartbroken scream. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for Nico, who was knelt in the middle of the deck, eyes black as night. Percy crashed into Jason  from the back, yelling, 

“What’s going on?” Where was Leo when you needed him? The ship lurched violently to the left. Jason could feel the ship breaking and it slowly started to sink. He ran up to Nico. He shook his shoulders and slapped him in the face. Nothing. It was like Nico couldn’t see or hear him. They were knee deep in water now. Suddenly, Jason felt an overwhelming urge to leave the smaller, younger demigod to drown. As Percy was already swimming back in the direction of land, Jason did just that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for sticking with me until the end of this chapter!! Sorry this was a shorter chapter! X


	9. Sorry!!!

Hey everybody!! I’m just writing this to tell you that I will be continuing this story, and I’m so sorry about leaving it for such a long time! I’m currently writing the next chapter, and I hope you’ll all enjoy it!!! Please don’t be afraid to leave your thoughts in the comments, all and any feedback is always appreciated! X


	10. Run, Run As Fast As You Can.

Leo had been counting the days since Nico, Percy and Jason had left for Argentina, to go and find the Mascalons, who were the last species in contact with the Killachromians. They were the only things that could help Nico now. So you could imagine Leo's surprise when he saw Jason flying back to the island, and Percy swimming right underneath him, days before they would’ve even arrived in Argentina. No ship. No Nico. He ran down the beach at full speed, tripping over himself as he went. Jason and Percy climbed up onto the shore with blank expressions on their faces. _Oh no, no no no. Not now. Please not now._  Leo skidded to a stop in front of the two demigods, who were both staring straight ahead, expressionless. 

“Jason?! Percy?! Where the Hell is Nico?!” Neither boy answered, or showed any indication that they had even heard the younger demigod. Leo shook both boys shoulders and they seemed to snap back to reality, but both were disoriented. 

“L-Leo? What are you doing here? _Where is here?!_ ” Percy asked frantically, taking in his surroundings. Leo’s heart sank. 

“You... You’re back on Ogygia. Just Nico isn’t with you. You _do_ know where he is right?!” He could barely control his rage. Jason and Percy could only make an uncomfortable face. 

“The last thing I remember is Nico screaming... And the ship... It tore itself apart...” Jason decided to stop talking when he saw the expression on Leo’s face. Leo felt as though his heart had stopped beating. He stood frozen. The icy burn that Nico’s lips had left on his cheek suddenly burned hotter than Hestia’s hearth, as he remembered how he kissed Nico when they had first landed on Ogygia. Then Piper was hugging him. And Jason was apologising. Percy was in Annabeth’s arms. Frank held a screaming Hazel. Calypso stared off at the horizon. They had no idea where the son of Hades was. He was gone. 

That night, the rest of The Seven tried to move Leo back to the medi-tent, but he couldn’t move. Neither could Hazel. They stayed together on the beach, sat side by side, in an easy silence filled with pain. Until Hazel broke it with a quiet voice. 

“You like him, don’t you.” Leo looked in her direction. 

“What was that?” Hazel smiled sadly. 

“Nico. You like him. I can see it.” She noticed the look on his face, “Don’t worry, Leo. Your secret’s safe with me. I won’t tell.” He looked at her. 

“I... I think I love him, Hazel. He means everything to me, after everything we’ve been through, I-I can’t imagine life without him.” She smiled at him.

“You’re so sweet, Leo. He’s lucky to have you. Not many people like my brother, he’s not one of _those_ people. Thank you. For loving my brother.” Leo turned to face her, and surged forwards, burring himself in her arms. They both sat there on the beach, crying. And waited for the next day to come.

 

* * *

 

 _So dark. Oh, it’s so dark. Pain. Pain everywhere. There’s something on top of me... It’s so loud! What even is that sound? Screaming? Am I the one screaming...? Where’s Leo? Where am I? Someone help! What’s that? Oh no. No. No, please, no._

_ **You won’t have to feel anymore, my little demigod. I’ve got you now. You belong to me now. You’re home. Leo can’t save you now. And I’m going to make you kill your friends, one by one. Goodnight Neeks. You won’t be able to wake up.** _

 

* * *

 

 

It had been three days since Percy and Jason had come back Nico-less. _Three days, four hours, twenty two minutes and fifty six seconds. Fifty seven. Fifty eight. Fifty nine. Three days, four hours, twenty three minutes and two seconds. Three. Four. Five._  Thought Leo. He was going insane with worry and the only person who he could talk to about it was Hazel. They would sit, cry, talk, laugh and cry some more. Calypso was helping Leo build a new ship, a replica of the Argo II. It would take a while but not as long as it had the first time around.

Time was hard on Ogygia, but Leo knew it had taken him at least a month to finish the Cazador de Sombras, named after one of Leo's favourite book series' ever, as well as finding the shadow-y son of Hades, who had been missing for one month, six days, nine hours, fifty two minutes and twelve seconds. He sat back and admired his work, the ship was able to go on land and water, like the Argo II. It was made out of a darker metal that was rival to Vibranium or Adamantium (Leo was a huge fanboy and was proud of it), which Leo had found in one of Calypso's caves. It was more aerodynamic, faster, and more agile than the old Argo II. Leo was proud of the Cazador de Sombras, but not of why he had to make her. Leo was tired, and the sun had gone down a while ago, so he headed back to the old medi-tent and slipped into bed, not even bothering to change into his pyjamas. Part of being a demigod was the bad dreams. 

_He was in a small cave. It was so dark, he could barely see a thing, but he could see a table. It was almost like an operating table, just quite old. An skinny, pale boy was strapped down upon it. There was a terrible noise echoing through the cave, reverberating off the slimy walls. Next to the boy, there was a smaller table, with rusted, spiky instruments assorted atop of it. The boy appeared to be asleep, but was covered in cuts and bruises. Leo drifted closer to the teen, and would've gasped if he could've. It was Nico, but he was barely recognisable. His eyes had thick, dark circles surrounding them, half bruise, half lack of sleep Leo guessed. His lips were cracked and dry, he was dirty and his wrists and ankles were infected and bleeding, where he had tried to escape his bonds. His hair had grown a little longer, and it was caked with blood. He had new scars, and had been beaten black and blue. The smaller demigod had been tortured relentlessly for the past month, Leo guessed. But his arms looked thicker, despite being much skinnier than when they lost him, which was saying something. Whoever had him was training him, and had either scared him too much to leave, or was forcing him to stay somehow. Leo hoped it was the latter. Suddenly, there was a loud scraping noise, and a stream of light grew along the floor, as something was pushed away from the mouth of the cave. Leo stepped outside, but saw no one. But he did see the landscape, and almost cried with happiness. He knew where they were. He knew where Nico was. He was going to find Nico, and he was going to bring him home._

Leo woke with a start, breathing heavily. He needed to tell the team. He knew where Nico was. He jumped out of his bed, his feet slipping slightly on the marble floor. He skidded outside, to his surprise, everyone else was already there, all surrounding something that had washed up on the beach. But that could wait, because he knew where Nico was! And he was alive!

"Guys! I know where he is! I know... What is that?" Leo questioned, as he couldn't see what they were all staring at. Hazel stepped back, letting Leo into their little circle. Leo almost screamed with anguish. It was a body. But he knew this body. It was the corpse of his younger half-brother, Harley. His beautiful, kind, sweet eight year old brother. He did scream then. He screamed so loud that even the Gods heard him. He screamed until his throat ripped and he couldn't scream anymore. The, he sobbed and cradled the body. He brushed Harley's hair out of his wide, staring eyes, which had lost the spark that all of Hephaestus' kids had. There were three arrows embedded in his small chest, the largest one had a message wrapped around it. He pulled it off with trembling fingers, and read aloud; 

“ _I know you know where we are. And if you tell anyone, I’ll kill the rest of them. In front of you. Forget about him. Or, well,  you get the idea, Leo Valdez._ ” 

“I know where Nico is. But if I tell you, it’ll kill my entire Cabin. I don’t know what to do...” Leo choked through his tears. He wanted to scream, “It’s got him in Andalucia! He’s in Tarifa!” But he couldn’t. His pain was replaced by anger. If this thing wanted to play a game, Leo would play. The note never said anything about setting sail to find them, did it? That wasn’t breaking any rules, was it? He knew his decision was a blinded-by-rage one, but he made an oath right then and there. 

“I’m going to find this thing, and I swear on the River Styx, I’ll kill it myself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with me until the end of this chapter! Please leave your thoughts in the comments, any and all feedback is appreciated! Love you guys for staying with me! Sorry that this chapter was a little short! X

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to leave your opinions in the comments! Sorry if it's terrible! X


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